The Drift report - 2023
To go deeper into the view of entrepreneurship and get answers to why some take the step to start their own business, while others stop at dreaming about it, Froda has produced the report Driv.
In the report, we have also examined the driving forces and challenges associated with entrepreneurship in order to identify the factors underlying demographic and geographical differences in entrepreneurship in Sweden. Through a deeper understanding of entrepreneurship in general, as well as the people behind it, we hope to create better conditions for both today's and tomorrow's entrepreneurs.
The entrepreneurial dream is widespread
Six percent of the population currently run a business and every second Swede has at some point thought about becoming an entrepreneur. Among the younger age groups, the figure is even higher. Two out of three under 30 say they have considered starting a business.
Self-determination is the strongest driver
The possibility of self-determination is seen as the most attractive aspect of entrepreneurship. Both entrepreneurs and Swedes are driven by being able to work on what they want, plan their own time and be their own boss.
More than one in two Swedes have business dreams. This corresponds to over 4 million potential entrepreneurs in Sweden.
Sweden's entrepreneurs in figures
Two out of three under 30 want to become entrepreneurs
The dream of entrepreneurship is stronger the younger you are. Today, only one in twenty entrepreneurs is under the age of 30, while a third is 65 or older. However, two thirds of Sweden's 16-29 year olds have considered starting a business, a figure that is twice as high as the proportion of people over 65 who have considered becoming an entrepreneur.
Gender equality remains a challenge
Only one third of Sweden's entrepreneurs are women. Women are also less likely than men to say that they have considered starting their own business.
Entrepreneurship big and small
Money is a challenge
More than four out of ten Swedes would start a business if money was not an issue, and the impact of money is once again evident in the challenges of entrepreneurship. The most common concern for entrepreneurs at the start was how their own personal finances would be affected.
Large differences in entrepreneurship between Sweden's counties. Read more about them in the report
Read the report
Women and young people held back by lack of funding and confidence
In the youngest age group, concerns were more pronounced in several areas: difficulty in obtaining finance (18%), fear of failure (29%), legal issues (16%), business idea not working (23%), etc.
Women are more likely than men to consider lack of knowledge about entrepreneurship (34%), access to finance (38%) and fear of failure (41%) as the main obstacles.
Foreign-born people are enterprising
Only just over one in six entrepreneurs in Sweden is foreign-born, and three out of four entrepreneurs are born in Sweden with two parents born in Sweden.
However, 5 percent of all foreign-born people in Sweden are entrepreneurs, which is just below the national average of 6 percent. Among those born in Sweden with two parents born in Sweden, 7 percent are entrepreneurs.
However, when it comes to women, foreign-born women are more entrepreneurial. There is a higher proportion of women among the foreign-born entrepreneurs compared to the native-born entrepreneurs with two native-born parents (35% vs. 31%).
Press contact
Johanna Sturk
PR & Communications Manager, Froda
johanna.sturk@froda.se
0729414216
Methodology
The DRIV report is published by Froda, and is based on Statistics Sweden's register-based labor market statistics (RAMS) in 2021 and a survey via Norstat's nationally representative web panel that includes 6,511 respondents. The survey was conducted in February 2023.
This compilation is based on statistics from Statistics Sweden on 1. Swedish entrepreneurs aged 16+ and 2. the Swedish general public aged 16+ and 3. a self-initiated survey of the Swedish general public aged 16+ (see below for a description of the survey).
Consignor
The sender of the report is Froda, a credit institution that promotes gender equality and inclusiveness in business by promoting objective and digital business finance on good terms. Froda's goal is to give all SMEs the same opportunities to succeed, regardless of the founder's age, gender or ethnicity.
