XO Foundation Awards Ceremony Celebrates Young Innovators

With joy, EQT founder Conni Jonsson noted his return to Hasselbacken in Stockholm for this year’s awards ceremony for the XO Foundation, the charity he co-founded in memory of Peter Wallenberg. The event brought together figures from the Wallenberg sphere and promising entrepreneurs.

EQT founder Conni Jonsson explains that the purpose of the organization was to promote “extraordinary individuals” in the spirit of Peter Wallenberg, people who “make a difference” and inspire others to do the same. Photo: Josefine Stenersen

XO Foundation

The XO Foundation is a non-profit organization that awards scholarships to individuals aged 16 and up with ideas and drive, but without access to capital, networks, or business knowledge. The aim is to help them realize their projects, businesses, or educational plans. The organization was founded in 2018 by Conni Jonsson, Sara Wimmercranz, Susanne Najafi, and Claes Dahlbäck.

The jury consists of the four founders, as well as Peter Wallenberg Jr, Hjalmar Didrikson, co-founder of the venture capital firm Alfvén & Didrikson, and Hillevi Pihlblad Rafidashti, service manager at Volvo Energy.

Each year, up to 500,000 SEK is awarded per scholarship. The support is given without any requirement for repayment or counter-performance. To date, 50 scholarships have been awarded, totaling 25 million SEK.

In addition to financial support, scholarship recipients can gain access to a mentor, receive help with contract law or business models, and become part of XO’s alumni network.

Source: XO Foundation.

One of this year’s scholarship recipients in the category of entrepreneurship and projects is Sabelle Beraki and her company The Belle Dolls. She explains why an organization like XO Foundation is so important.

“Talent exists everywhere, but not everyone gets the chance. Something like XO is important because it gives people from all types of backgrounds a chance to follow their dreams. For me, it becomes the opportunity to invest even bigger,” she says.

'I really hope that I inspire young people, specifically girls with a similar background to me,' says Sabelle Beraki, scholarship recipient 2025. This year's initiative went to Amin Al Qatanani from Gothenburg. — “I really hope that I inspire young people, specifically girls with a similar background to me,” says Sabelle Beraki, scholarship recipient 2025. This year’s initiative went to Amin Al Qatanani from Gothenburg. Photo: Josefine Stenersen

New for this year’s edition of the XO Foundation are three new scholarships from their new partner Bockasjö Capital. This year’s “Eldsjäl” (fire soul), association, and initiative were all new awards for the year. The latter went to Amin Al Qatanani and his platform I Am In.

“It feels so good and fun to get recognition for the work you do. XO does an important job of highlighting positive things that happen in our suburbs during a time when there are so many negative headlines. It doesn’t reflect all the fantastic people who live there and do good things every day,” he says.

The Jury: Peter Wallenberg Jr, Hillevi Pihlblad Rafidashti, Claes Dahlbäck, Susanne Najafi, Conni Jonsson and Sara Wimmercranz. Photo: Josefine Stenersen

Scholarship Recipients 2025

Claes-Johan Roempke, from Gnesta – The Fossil-Free Preparedness Farm.
Idea: A system innovation that makes it possible to run a completely self-sufficient farm that produces food fossil-free.
Robert Yazdin from Södertälje – Windmotors.
Idea: Place wind turbines between lanes or roadsides to convert wind from vehicles and regular wind into electricity.
Gustav Palm from Öckerö – Mareld.
Idea: Develops a system to make food controls faster, from 2-5 days to only 8 hours.
Sabelle Beraki from Bandhagen – The Belle Dolls.
Idea: Dolls that reflect the world’s diversity, with different skin tones, cultural outfits, vitiligo, wheelchairs, etc.
Carl Hugo Jacobsson from Stockholm – Ungdomsförmedlingen (The Youth Agency).
Idea: A digital meeting place between job-seeking young people and employers.
Taufeeq Saleh from Fjällbacka – Emploify.
Idea: Creates municipally funded summer jobs in the business sector that complement the municipal holiday jobs.
Apeq Aziz from Norrköping – Överklaga-AI (Appeal-AI).
Idea: AI-based platform that helps individuals understand and manage legal processes, such as appealing a government decision.
Viktor Björklund from Luleå – Iskraft (Ice Power).
Idea: A machine that will create green electricity by freezing water.
Mohamed Elfituri from Norrköping – Sara & Opti Flow.
Idea: An AI-driven voice agent that can receive and make calls and should be able to function as customer support for companies.

Jan Scherman, CEO of TV4 from 2001-2011, has known Conni Jonsson since the 90s and has been involved in the organization’s journey as chairman for a few years. During the ceremony, he announced that the XO Foundation’s journey around the country’s vulnerable areas will now become a film, which will be shown on TV4 this fall.

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