On October 1st, applications open for the Future Female Entrepreneur Scholarship for the fourth year in a row. The scholarship is aimed at female entrepreneurs who are either planning to start a business or have started their business within the past year.

Approximately 30 percent of all entrepreneurs in Sweden are women, which is below the EU average. Since 1980, the proportion of female entrepreneurs has only increased by one percentage point. To encourage more women to start and run businesses, the tech company Froda launched the scholarship in 2022. The aim is to give women who want to, or have just started a business, the opportunity to realize their ideas.

The scholarship is for 100,000 SEK and is awarded annually to a female entrepreneur. Previous winners include Miranda Matti (Lexflix), Janna Naser (Alga Insulations) and Linda Alexandersson (Maybe Baby).

– Sweden is below the EU average when it comes to female entrepreneurship. This is despite the fact that we are one of the world's most gender-equal countries. To break the negative trend, we need to bring in more female entrepreneurs and role models. With the scholarship, we want to help improve the conditions for female entrepreneurs and give more women the opportunity to invest in their ideas, says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

To apply for the scholarship, you must have started a business after January 1, 2025, or have a business idea that you will start within a year. The application is open until December 31, 2025, and the award ceremony will be held in March 2026.

The application period for the scholarship is between October 1 - December 31, 2025.

Read more about the scholarship and apply here: https://www.froda.se/om-oss/event/framtidens-kvinnliga-foretagare

About the “Future Female Entrepreneurs” scholarship

The Future Female Entrepreneurs scholarship was established in 2022 and is awarded annually to a female entrepreneur. The scholarship is for 100,000 SEK and aims to provide women with ambitions to run a business with start-up capital that enables them to invest in their idea. Requirements to apply are:

• Identify as a woman
• Registered in Sweden
• Of legal age at the time of application
• The business idea or company the participant applies with must not have been registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office before January 1, 2025.

* After January 1, 2025.

Helsinki, May 13 – Froda, a leading fintech company in embedded finance, and the British fintech company wamo are today launching a new digital financing solution for Finnish small business owners. The partnership aims to reduce the financing gap for small businesses by offering fast and flexible financing of up to SEK 2 million directly via Visa business cards. The goal is to strengthen over 25,000 small businesses and contribute to increased growth in the Finnish business sector.

Despite Finland being among the most digitally advanced countries in Europe, with 82% of the population having good digital skills, access to modern business financing has struggled to keep pace with the increasing digital demands. Small and medium-sized enterprises account for the majority of the country's employment and growth, but many still lack access to flexible and digital financing solutions.

This partnership addresses the problem by offering a completely digital and flexible financing solution via card-based loans. The new solution, which is now being launched in Finland, is based on so-called card-based embedded lending – a model where financing is integrated directly into wamo's platform. In just a few minutes, companies can apply for loans and get a decision. The technology makes it possible to automate the entire process, from application to disbursement and repayment, without having to leave wamo's ecosystem.

– Our collaboration with Froda is an important step in making business financing more accessible to SMEs throughout Europe, starting in Finland. With permission from the Financial Supervisory Authority in Finland (FIN-FSA), wamo's customers can apply for loans in just a few steps, and if the company qualifies, they can get a loan decision of up to SEK 2 million in as little as 15 minutes, says Yanki Onen, CEO and founder of wamo.

Unlike traditional financing, which is often characterized by long processing times and limited options, this model gives companies the opportunity to manage cash flow, invest in growth, and simplify their daily operations, directly in the tool they already use.

– Finland has a high level of digital maturity, but business financing hasn't kept pace. This partnership is a concrete step towards making financing as simple as any other digital service, and we are pleased to launch card-based lending in the Finnish market together with wamo,” says Olle Lundin, CEO and co-founder of Froda.

Since 2021, Froda has developed embedded finance solutions that enable partners to integrate SME financing directly into their platforms. In 2022, Froda, in collaboration with Visa, launched the world's first card-based lending solution, which uses Visa's card infrastructure and push payment features for completely seamless transactions. Froda's card-based loans enable card-issuing partners to offer business loans in real-time, with smooth disbursement and repayment via Visa business cards. This removes the barriers to financing and gives SMEs the flexibility to manage their finances and scale up their business more effectively.

The partnership with wamo is another step in Froda's mission to offer businesses across Europe accessible and flexible financing solutions, on the best possible terms. The new product is now live in Finland, and expansion to more European markets is planned for 2025.

The Swedish fintech company Froda has secured SEK 224 million in a Series B round to accelerate its European expansion. The investment will be used to scale up the company's embedded finance offering, broaden partnerships and reach more small business owners in new markets in Europe. The round was led by Incore Invest, with continued strong support from existing investors.

The round takes place at a time when capital raising within fintech has slowed down significantly, and many players are finding it difficult to attract new venture capital. The investment signals a growing confidence in embedded finance as a model for scalable and sustainable growth within fintech. The capital will be used to scale up Froda's operations, establish new partnerships and expand to more European markets.

– We are in a crucial growth phase for Froda and are seeing a sharp increase in interest from both new and existing partners across Europe. With Incore Invest behind us, we can accelerate our expansion and scale up partnerships to continue supporting small businesses with the financing they need. Our goal has always been to make financing fairer, simpler, and more accessible, and this round makes it possible for us to take bigger steps in the right direction, says Olle Lundin, co-founder and CEO of Froda.

Froda grew its customer base by 30 percent in 2024 and has signed an average of one new Froda Embedded partnership per month. The company was included in the Financial Times list FT1000: Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies 2025, and has recently expanded its partnership with the European Investment Fund (EIF) through the launch of the first pan-European guarantee for microfinancing. This enables Froda to scale up its proven model from Sweden, where Froda's SME customers are growing twelve times faster than the national average.

Since 2021, Froda has focused on embedded finance, which has been the basis for the company's international expansion. Under Froda Embedded, the company offers white-label products for SME financing, allowing partners to benefit from Froda's financing and infrastructure. The platform integrates directly into the ecosystems of banks, fintech companies, and payment companies, enabling them to offer business loans in their own interface and under their own brand. New partnerships with Mimo (UK), Lunar (Nordics), and Kontist (Germany), among others, demonstrate the growing demand. This strengthens Froda's role in addressing the growing financing gap for small businesses in Europe, which is estimated at 400 billion euros.

– At Incore Invest, we look for companies that not only change markets but fundamentally reshape them. Froda is an excellent example of this. Their strong business strategy, impressive growth curve, and industry-leading partnerships make them an obvious investment for us. We are proud to support Froda in their expansion across Europe and in their continued growth journey, says Nicolai Chamizo, founder and CEO of Incore Invest.

The investment in Froda is one of the first from Incore Invest's new fund – Incore Invest II. The fund is focused on accelerating the growth of fast-growing companies in fintech, SaaS, and embedded finance. Within the framework of a broader portfolio strategy, Froda stands out as a flagship example of the future of fintech and investment-driven growth in the Nordics, and reflects the type of company that Incore's fund is designed to support.

About Froda

Froda was founded in 2015 with the ambition to redefine business financing by making it more accessible and efficient for small and medium-sized enterprises. Froda creates opportunities for all entrepreneurs, regardless of background, to realize their business ideas. With the help of digital processes and technological innovation, Froda has revolutionized the loan process and shortened it from months to minutes – with a focus on offering fast, fair, and inclusive financing. Today, Froda is one of Europe's fastest-growing tech companies, with support from investors such as Karl-Johan Persson, Nicklas Storåkers, and Victor Jacobsson. In 2021, Froda launched an initiative in embedded finance, through which the company has expanded to the Nordics, the United Kingdom, and Germany, and has entered into partnerships with Visa, Lunar, and Checkout.com, among others. As a credit market company, Froda is under the supervision of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. Read more about Froda

About Incore Invest

Incore Invest is a Stockholm-based investment company specializing in growth investments in internet and technology. The company was founded in 2022 by Nicolai Chamizo and works closely with founders and management teams to develop companies into market leaders. With deep sector knowledge and an extensive network within the European tech sector, Incore Invest offers strategic capital and active support to its portfolio companies. Its investments include Brite Payments, Froda, Mynt, SAVR, and Kameo. In 2025, the company launched its second fund, Incore Invest II, with the aim of accelerating growth journeys for promising tech companies in Europe.