As co-founders of Maybe Baby, Linda Alexandersson and Alexandra Kaktus have taken on one of the most central but often overlooked aspects of women's health: fertility. With a vision to make it ridiculously easy for women to understand their own bodies, they have created a home test that reaches the entire country and provides a personalized, data-driven report tailored to each individual.

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"We want women to be able to make one of the biggest decisions of their lives - to have children, and to do so with confidence and knowledge," says Alexandra.

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The road there has been anything but straightforward. Two female founders who build products for women and also choose to bootstrap finance the company have had to contend with a reality where venture capital often fails to materialize.

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"It's basically impossible to get venture capital in our area, despite the need. We financed everything ourselves and privately until the Froda grant," says Linda. "It came just when our confidence and bank account were at their lowest. We had been building together for nine months and Froda were the first to really believe in us."

Sami Kallio has built his name as a freelance furniture designer based in Gothenburg, and today he runs Sami Kallio Studio. With a passion for design and craftsmanship, he has gained particular attention for his innovative chairs, which he describes as his great love in furniture design.

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"I focus mostly on chairs. It's my calling, so to speak. I think the chair is such a complex piece of furniture – you can come up with so much with it. Then there are people who ask why make another chair when there are so many. I usually say that there is always someone out there who has not found the right love," says Sami.

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Sami Kallio Studio is one of our customers who, with the support of the European Investment Fund (EIF), was able to get a business loan granted with even better terms than usual - The program enables Froda to lend to small businesses to promote growth, equality, sustainable work and social inclusion in Europe. Read more about the EIF here.

What started as a way to earn some extra money as an art student in London has today grown into Wilde Shop, a vintage store in Copenhagen that helps women rediscover their personal style. Edda, the founder of the store, tells how her love for vintage and a practical approach to entrepreneurship has shaped Wilde Shop into what it is today.

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"I've been into vintage since I was a teenager," says Edda. "It started with me going to flea markets on the weekends to scrape together some money during art school. But I quickly realized how powerful vintage can be as a way to express yourself."

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Growing up in Hong Kong and accustomed to big cities, Edda quickly noticed how fast fashion could take over wardrobes. Wilde was created as a reaction to this, a place where unique and carefully selected garments help women find their own style and feel confident in it. "Finding your style is important," she explains. "But finding a way to express it can be difficult. That's where Wilde comes in."

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Running a vintage store is a 24/7 job. From finding new garments and updating the website to steaming clothes, sewing on buttons, and taking measurements for new product descriptions, Edda does it all herself. "When the store opens at 11 AM, I've already done 20 things," she says with a laugh. "There's always something to fix, upload, clean, or organize."

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Despite the business doing well and the customer base growing, she received no support from her old bank when it was time to move to a larger location. "We had been making money from the start," Edda says. "I thought loyalty would count, but they said no. That's when I realized I needed to find a new banking partner."

What started as a small café in Rydebäck has grown into Lilla Fiket, a popular spot serving breakfast, lunch, pastries, and catering. Behind the counter is Jessica Liljedahl Marin, whose commitment to local ingredients and Swedish traditions permeates everything she does.

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"I make everything from scratch," says Jessica. "I use Swedish butter for the buttercream, Bjäre chicken for the lunches, and always buy locally. That's important to me."

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Initially, she ran the café in a small space without a kitchen. It was all or nothing. When the opportunity to grow arose, she took the chance and turned to Froda after a tip on LinkedIn. "I submitted the application and then I was up and running. It was so smooth."

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Jessica appreciates Froda's clear structure, daily repayment, and how well it fit with her cash flow. "You don't feel the whole loan at once. It just ticks along in the background while you continue working."

What started as a simple conversation between Nirvana and Sohrab has today evolved into Heartspace. It is now a groundbreaking AI platform that helps fast-growing companies automate their content creation process and distribution. Nirvana, co-founder and CMO, talks about how an everyday moment became the start of an idea that would change everything.

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"We talked about ideas," Nirvana recalls. "It wasn't just one thought among others. It was something we both felt strongly about. I said to Sohrab, we have to do this. We can't wait."

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Together with Sohrab, who is the co-founder and CTO, they launched Heartspace with a clear goal: to make high-quality content creation accessible, quick, and easy for marketers. "Our AI agent understands customers' brands, their industry, and keeps track of relevant news. It creates content that they can publish with one click, or even easier," explains Sohrab.

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Like many startups, Heartspace faced financial challenges. Nirvana says that they had big plans but needed capital to get started. They needed the money for both marketing efforts and product development.

Lillemor Svensson has made a journey from running a small online store to building Nordic Natural Beauty, a leading distributor of sustainable, natural, vegan and organic beauty products in the Nordic market. Her passion for sustainability and quality drives the company's vision of a more environmentally friendly beauty industry.

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“When we look at new brands, the most important thing is that they have really good quality, but also that they are sustainable. We investigate the management team and the entire company to ensure they have a sustainable focus. This is an important part of being able to offer products we know are fair,” says Lillemor.

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Nordic Natural Beauty is one of our customers who, with the support of the European Investment Fund (EIF), was able to get a business loan granted with even better terms than usual - The program enables Froda to lend to small businesses to promote growth, equality, sustainable work and social inclusion in Europe. Read more about the EIF here.