Winner of the Flemingsberg Science Award IDEA this year was Hejfin. The innovation is an app for women and non-binary people to help them manage their personal finances.

Founder is Nayanika Bhalla, a Ph.D. student at the KTH Department of Gene Technology, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, and Stelia Ntika och Greta Kampe.

What does winning the Flemingsberg Science Awards IDEA 2022 mean to you, and what does it make possible?
“First and foremost, we are absolutely thrilled to win the Flemingsberg Science Award – IDEA. It has not only validated our efforts with Hejfin, but has motivated us to work even harder. We believe that the Award will bring publicity and awareness about the cause we are trying to address”, says Nayanika Bhalla.

Briefly describe your business idea/product, who is it aimed at and why?
“Hejfin is a one-stop, reliable financial education app for female/non-binary people to help them improve the management of their personal finances as well as start investing. On the platform, users will get reliable and jargon-free information from the platform which aims to provide knowledge, skills, and fostering the motivation to engage with responsible investing.”, says Bhalla.
“I was a fresh graduate, right out of college, in summer 2019 when my parents suggested that I start saving and investing a part of my salary for future funds. I thought that it seemed like a natural step in order to grow my wealth for the future and increase my financial security. Over the course of time, I realized that it did not come as easy to everyone, and they did not have the right guidance like I was fortunate to have. I also realized that it was only my male friends who were actively investing, and none of my female friends were even having conversations about money, let alone invest.”
“Recent studies have also shown that only approximately 30% of the female population is financially knowledgeable, making it less likely for women to invest, compounding any financial disadvantages and limiting their collective influence globally. In May this year I, along with my co-founders Stelia Ntika and Greta Kampe, decided to address this issue and give women a platform to take control of their financial independence.”

How do you proceed right now to develop your idea further?
“We are currently part of the KTH Innovation pre-incubator, which is a program accelerating the development of our project. With recent additions to our team in the form of financial experts and developers, our immediate goal is to launch the platform for Android and iOS systems by June, 2023 available to users in Sweden. We further aim to make our platform available for users in more Nordic countries.”, says Bhalla.