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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.

Linda Alexandersson, co-founder of Maybe Baby, has been awarded Froda's Future Female Entrepreneur award. Together with her team, she is now ready to launch a digital fertility solution that combines technology and medicine to give women clear and personal insights into their fertility, through a simple home test at a reasonable price.

The Female Entrepreneur of the Future award, which aims to support and promote female entrepreneurs in the start-up phase, is part of Froda's commitment to creating a more gender-equal business environment. This year's winner was chosen by a unanimous jury consisting of the entrepreneurs Jonas Groth, co-founder of Aarke, Ludwig Jonsson, co-founder of Rodolfo, Olga Beck-Friis, co-founder of Pocketlaw, Oliver Mohseni, co-founder of Froda, Paula Runsten, co-founder of Rebaba, Sara Serray, founder of Wellibites.

"- It means an incredible amount to us to receive this award. Thanks to initiatives like this, which are crucial for female entrepreneurship, we can drive the change that is needed in women's health. This award, together with the thousands of women on our waiting list, confirms that change was truly needed. For us, it's not just about a fertility test, it's about changing the future of women's health. We want to give women the opportunity to plan their lives on their own terms and get answers before it's too late. Thanks to Froda, we are now one step closer to our goal," says Linda Alexandersson, co-founder of Maybe Baby.

Linda Alexandersson, originally from Borås and now living in Stockholm, has over 10 years of experience in the tech and startup world. The idea for Maybe Baby was born out of her own experiences with long waiting times, unclear information and high costs in fertility care. Together with her co-founders, Alexandra Kaktus and Hamed Khodabakhshi, she has developed a digital solution that makes fertility information accessible, understandable and affordable.

"- Linda and Maybe Baby are a shining example of how female entrepreneurship can drive real change. With a strong idea, a well-thought-out strategy and a clear focus, she impressed a unanimous jury. I am particularly impressed by the drive and passion that has enabled them to come so far without external backing. We at Froda are proud to be able to highlight more female entrepreneurs and look forward to following Maybe Baby's continued journey. We hope that this award will be a step on the road to even greater success," says Oliver Mohseni, co-founder of Froda.

The idea behind Maybe Baby started to take shape over a year ago, but it wasn't until June 2024 that Linda and her team began to form the company. Through the startup incubator Antler and mutual contacts, Linda found her two co-founders, and after nine months of intensive product development, Maybe Baby is now almost ready to roll out. The launch of the company's first product is planned for spring 2025.

– Our short but intense journey has been full of challenges. That's why it feels extra good that others also see the value in what we do and believe in our vision. We are really looking forward to the launch and to continue driving our company forward, we are only at the beginning of our journey and this award strengthens our belief that we are on the right track, says Linda Alexandersson.

Jury's reasoning

By combining research, technology and user-friendliness, Linda has created a solution that strengthens women's health and impacts family formation and reproductive health in general. With a smart business model, a clear go-to-market strategy and a focus on preventive care and personal health data, she addresses a market with great needs and few alternatives. Her drive, vision and ability to solve a real problem make her an obvious recipient of the award.

About the award

The award is Froda's way of recognizing young female entrepreneurs, and the Future Female Founder award was established in 2022. The award also includes a scholarship intended to provide young women who want to start or have started a business with capital that enables the realization of their idea. The assessment criteria for the scholarship are drive, sustainability, creativity, feasibility, problem-solving, the impact the company would have, and the impact the scholarship and award would have on the company.

Since 1980, the share of female entrepreneurs in Sweden has increased by one percentage point, and today only a quarter of all entrepreneurs are women. To inspire more women to take the plunge and start a business, Froda is launching the third edition of the Women Entrepreneurs of the Future. The five finalists can now be presented: Claudia Losciale, Ebba Adolfsson, Emmy Berggren, Linda Alexandersson and Tina Saleh.

The award aims to both encourage more women to start their own business and to promote gender equality and diversity in business. Established in 2022, the award is now in its third year and the winner of the Women Entrepreneurs of the Future will be announced on March 6.

To select the winning entry, Froda has assembled a jury with a diverse set of skills and experiences, reflecting the breadth of innovation and entrepreneurship the award wants to highlight and providing the opportunity to assess the entries from different perspectives. The jury consists of Jonas Groth, co-founder of Aarke, Ludwig Jonsson, co-founder of Rodolfo, Olga Beck-Friis, co-founder of Pocketlaw, Oliver Mohseni, co-founder of Froda, Paula Runsten, co-founder of Rebaba, Sara Serray, founder of Wellibites.

- The competition is about creating better opportunities for women entrepreneurs and giving more women the chance to turn their ideas into reality. It is truly inspiring to see so many innovative and impressive ideas from such diverse industries. The breadth of business ideas really shows the power and creativity of the women entrepreneurs of the future. It is particularly impressive to see how far these entrepreneurs have already come in their first year - it bodes well for the future," said Oliver Mohseni, co-founder of Froda.

The winner will be awarded a grant to invest in their idea and take their business to the next level.

The finalists:

Claudia Losciale, founder of Historical Parts
Claudia Losciale is the product and interior designer who, together with her co-founder, founded Historical Parts. The company has created a platform where architects, builders and individuals can find and buy reusable building materials. By combining traditional craftsmanship with modern technology, the company aims to reduce the environmental impact of the construction industry and promote sustainability. They rescue historical objects, save resources and build a circular future. Historical Parts is also part of KTH Innovation Launch batch 19.

Ebba Adolfsson, founder of Anferra
Ebba Adolfsson from Gothenburg is one of the founders behind Anferra. With an education in product design and entrepreneurship, she started Anferra, the company that develops innovative technology to recycle steel waste grinding wool. The waste, which today is often incinerated or landfilled and poses an environmental and economic challenge to the steel industry, is instead converted into valuable chemicals for water treatment and hydrogen. Anferra creates increased circularity, sustainability and profitability for both the steel and chemical industries.

Emmy Berggren, founder of Gralg
Emmy Berggren is a 20-year-old from Gothenburg, Sweden, working to reduce carbon emissions from agriculture. Together with her two co-founders, she has started Gralg, a company that creates climate-friendly fertilizer based on microalgae, following a circular business model. Gralg started as a JA company 1.5 years ago, and has already won three Swedish Championship gold medals and one European Championship silver medal in Young Entrepreneurship.

Linda Alexandersson, founder of Maybe Baby
Linda Alexandersson, from Stockholm, is one of the founders of Maybe Baby, a company that started with the question: Why is it so hard to get answers about fertility? After her own experiences with long waiting times, unclear information and expensive tests, Linda and her team wanted to change this. With over 10 years of experience in the startup world, Maybe Baby combines technology and medicine to offer women clear, personalized insights into their fertility through a simple home test at a reasonable price.

Tina Saleh, founder of Adoringo
Tina Saleh is an engineer with a passion for both technology and dogs. She is the founder of Adoringo, a digital platform that simplifies dog adoption and helps dogs find homes. Tina started working on the solution after feeling overwhelmed herself by the unstructured flow of information about pet adoption. The app brings together dogs ready for adoption and guides users to the right products and services. In the longer term, Adoringo plans to cover other animal groups as well.

Froda, a leading fintech in embedded finance, and digital challenger bank Lunar, today launch their smart business financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sweden. After a successful collaboration in Denmark since 2023, the goal is now to facilitate growth for Swedish companies as well.

Sweden is currently ranked as the EU's second most innovative country, having been overtaken by Denmark in 2023. At the same time, small businesses, which contribute over 50% of the country's GDP, face challenges, especially in terms of financing. In 2024, more than 10 000 limited liability companies went bankrupt, the highest figure in over a decade. The changing economic climate and challenges in obtaining loans from traditional banks make it even more difficult for small businesses to realize their ideas, slowing down Sweden's growth and competitiveness.

- Small businesses are the engine of Sweden's economy and innovation, but without access to capital we risk losing momentum. This partnership shows our common drive to strengthen small businesses by combining fintech innovation with the digital banking services of the future," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

A new standard for corporate finance

Through Froda's Embedded Lending platform and Visa's global card infrastructure, Lunar's Swedish customers get access to fast and flexible business loans directly in the app. Disbursements are made in seconds and repayments are handled automatically via card transactions. The process is fully digital and designed to eliminate traditional barriers such as long waiting times and high requirements.

- In addition to an affordable bank account with good service, loans are the most requested product among our corporate customers. Together with Froda, we share the vision of making it easier for small businesses to grow, and we look forward to strengthening our collaboration in Sweden as well," says Mats Persson Bergius, Commercial Director at Lunar.

The product will be available to Lunar's Swedish customers from February 2025. With this launch, Froda and Lunar are creating a new standard for business financing in Sweden, fast, transparent and fair that empowers small businesses to grow on their own terms.

About Froda
Froda was founded in 2015 with the ambition to redefine business finance by making it more accessible and efficient for SMEs. Froda creates opportunities for all entrepreneurs, regardless of background, to realize their business ideas. Using digital processes and technological innovation, Froda has revolutionized the loan process, shortening it from months to minutes - with a focus on providing fast, fair and inclusive financing. Today, Froda is one of Europe's fastest growing tech companies, backed by investors such as Karl-Johan Persson, Nicklas Storåkers and Victor Jacobsson. In 2021, Froda launched an embedded finance initiative, through which the company has expanded to the Nordic region, the UK and Germany, and 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 Lunar
Lunar is a digital challenger bank with the goal of making it easier for private customers and companies to manage their finances by building the best everyday bank in the Nordic region. Lunar was founded in Aarhus and has about 400 employees in the Nordic region. In 2019, Lunar received a Danish banking license and is now one of the few banks with a Nordic banking platform. Lunar currently has around 950,000 private and corporate customers in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. lunar.se

Froda is strengthening its cooperation with the European Investment Fund (EIF) by securing additional lending capacity of SEK 1.14 billion. This builds on an existing guarantee of SEK 560 million. Froda thus becomes the first partner to secure an EU-wide microfinance agreement with the EIF, opening up better opportunities for small businesses across Europe.

The financing gap for small businesses in Europe is estimated at €400 billion, and many small businesses struggle to access the finance they need to grow and compete. To address this, the EIF is working on various guarantee programs to expand financing opportunities for SMEs. Since 2022, Froda has been working with the EIF to improve access to finance for micro-enterprises, companies with fewer than ten employees in Sweden. Froda has already demonstrated how the financing model works in practice, with Froda's customers increasing their growth by an average of 131% in the first year after receiving financing.

With SEK 1.7 billion in loan guarantees, Froda aims to replicate the success of Sweden on a larger scale to 10,000 small entrepreneurs across Europe. The goal is to drive economic growth and innovation, and reduce the financing gap for microenterprises with limited access to fair financing. This agreement strengthens Froda's ability to reach out across Europe and create a more connected and supportive financial ecosystem for small businesses.

- The increased support from the EIF is an important step in our ambition to grow and create opportunities for small businesses across Europe. We can now follow our Embedded partners into new markets and help more small businesses. Our goal is to find solutions that enable international expansion for both us and our partners," says Olle Lundin, CEO and co-founder of Froda.

Froda and the EIF share the idea of creating a well-functioning market and better access to finance for small businesses across Europe. The new agreement opens up for international expansion, where Froda's Embedded partners can offer their customers loans with EIF guarantees. As the first player with guarantee coverage in all EU countries, the agreement is unique.

- The goal of the InvestEU program is to create working solutions for microfinance. We have seen how the guarantees have enabled Froda to make financing more accessible to microenterprises in Sweden. It is therefore natural that we increase the scope of the cooperation to include the entire EU. I am convinced that together we can create a sustainable and effective solution for financing in Europe," says Marjut Falkstedt, Director General of the EIF.

Since 2021, Froda has focused on developing embedded finance solutions that have been the foundation of its international expansion. Through collaborations with banks, payment providers and fintech companies, Froda is able to offer a white-label SME lending service that integrates seamlessly with its partners' platform and enables them to offer business loans directly to their customers. The increased support from the EIF is expected to strengthen Froda's role as a leading European player in financing for SMEs.

About Froda
Froda was founded in 2015 with the ambition to redefine business finance by making it more accessible and efficient for SMEs. Froda creates opportunities for all entrepreneurs, regardless of background, to realize their business ideas. Using digital processes and technological innovation, Froda has revolutionized the loan process, shortening it from months to minutes - with a focus on providing fast, fair and inclusive financing. Today, Froda is one of Europe's fastest growing tech companies, backed by investors such as Karl-Johan Persson, Nicklas Storåkers and Victor Jacobsson. In 2021, Froda launched an embedded finance initiative, through which the company has expanded to the Nordic region, the UK and Germany and 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 the European Investment Fund (EIF)
The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its main mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture capital, growth capital, guarantees and microfinance specifically targeted at this market segment. In this role, the EIF promotes the EU's objectives of sustainability, innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and jobs.

On November 7, applications for the "Female Entrepreneur of the Future" scholarship will open. The grant is aimed at female entrepreneurs who are either planning to start a business, or have started a business in the last year.*

Only a quarter of all entrepreneurs in Sweden are women, which is below the EU average. Since 1980, the number of female entrepreneurs has increased by one percentage point. To encourage more women to start and run businesses, tech company Froda launched a scholarship in 2022 to give women who want to, or have just started a business, the opportunity to realize their ideas. The scholarship is awarded annually to a female entrepreneur. Previous winners of the scholarship are Miranda Matti with the homework help platform Lexflix and Janna Naser for her work with Alga Insulations.

- Sweden is below the EU average when it comes to female entrepreneurship. This is despite the fact that we are one of the most gender equal countries in the world. To break the negative trend, we need 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 need to have either started a business after January 1, 2024, or have a business idea that you will start up within a year. Applications will be open until December 31, 2024 and the prize will be awarded in March 2025.

The application period for the scholarship is between November 7 - December 31, 2024.

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

About the “Future Female Entrepreneurs” scholarship

Established in 2022, the Female Entrepreneur of the Future is awarded annually to a female entrepreneur. The scholarship aims to give women with ambitions to run a business a 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 the company the participant is applying with must not have been registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office before January 1, 2024.

* After January 1, 2024.

Increased consumer protection in the credit market has been a hot topic over the past year. Now a survey by Norstat shows that a majority of Swedes also want to see increased protection for entrepreneurs who borrow. The survey, commissioned by Froda, examines Swedes' views and knowledge of banks and credit institutions.

97% of Swedish companies are one-man businesses or companies with fewer than 10 employees, which often lack finance departments and legal expertise. Despite this, there are not as strict rules on how business loans should be presented to the customer as there are for consumer loans. This means that loan providers are largely free to choose how they market their product, present their prices and design their terms and conditions.

- In Sweden, there is extensive legislation in the field of consumer credit that protects the borrower and makes it easier for individuals to make informed decisions when borrowing money. Entrepreneurs lack this protection," says Olle Lundin, CEO and founder of Froda.

The survey shows that four out of five Swedes are not aware of the lack of proper protection for entrepreneurs who borrow. However, there is broad support for increased borrower protection in business loans. Half of all Swedes say they want to see regulation and increased protection for entrepreneurs.

- Let entrepreneurs be entrepreneurs. Just because you start your own business doesn't mean you know everything about finance. Small business owners need the same protection as private individuals when it comes to advertising for loans and what the terms of the loan look like," comments Johan Grip, Chief Economist at Företagarna.

The survey also shows that price and good terms and conditions are the most important factors for Swedes when choosing a lender. In addition, 55% state that they find it difficult to understand banks' and lenders' agreements, terms and conditions. At the same time, 19% of Swedes state that they have at some point entered into an agreement with a bank or lender without fully understanding its meaning.

As a step in helping Sweden's entrepreneurs, Froda is now launching the Financing Handbook. The aim is to educate about financial terms and what entrepreneurs should consider before taking out a loan to help them make good financing decisions.

About the survey

The survey was conducted by Norstat during the period April 22 to May 5, 2024. 1009 respondents participated in the survey. It was aimed at the target group of the general public over the age of 18 and was conducted via Norstat's nationally representative web panel.

The survey shows that:

• Low interest rates/costs (82%) and good terms (65%) are most important for Swedes when choosing a lender
• 19% of Swedes have signed a contract with a bank/credit institution without fully understanding all the terms and conditions set out in the contract.
• 55% find it difficult to understand bank contracts, terms and conditions.
• Nominal interest (34), interest differential (34) and annuity (39) are the concepts that the least number of people can understand and explain.
• 36% of Swedes do not trust banks and financial institutions to provide all the information you need to make informed decisions.
• 49% do not believe that banks and credit institutions are transparent about their fees and costs.
• 77% do not know that business loans are not regulated.
• 50% think they should be regulated, but only 6% oppose regulation.

Froda and Juni are two of Sweden's leading fintech companies. The two billion-euro companies are now entering into a partnership when Juni joins Froda Embedded. The partnership involves a long-term investment in embedded finance and begins with Juni integrating with Froda's technical platform and being able to use Froda's capital pool.

The companies share the vision of helping as many entrepreneurs as possible to access finance on good terms. There are 25 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe, yet lack of access to finance is one of the biggest obstacles for smaller companies looking to grow. The partnership aims to make finance more accessible and thus help more people to grow.

- The journey that Juni has made and how far they have come in a short time is very impressive. I have followed the company since the start and therefore it is extra fun that they now choose Froda Embedded to continue to scale and that Froda can be part of their growth journey, says Olle Lundin, CEO and co-founder of Froda.

Since its launch in 2021, Froda Embedded has become one of Europe's leading providers of embedded finance solutions for businesses. Using the company's technology platform, partners can either integrate Froda's services and offer them to their customers, or use Froda's financing to build their own financing solutions. Froda's license also makes it easy for partners to increase lending and scale quickly in Europe.

Neobank Juni has come a long way since its launch in 2020 with the ambition to create the global corporate bank of the future. Juni gives businesses and finance teams access to modern banking services, expense management, financing and automated accounting, all in one platform. With low interchange fees and flexible financing, Juni wants to make it easier for companies operating globally. Future plans include obtaining a banking license for further expansion.

- Froda's credentials and expertise in SME lending make them a perfect partner for us. We were looking for a partner that, like us, has a focus on modern solutions and technology. Through our partnership, we will be able to scale faster internationally and support more entrepreneurs," said Samir El-Sabini, CEO and co-founder of Juni.

Both Froda and Juni were founded with the vision of helping entrepreneurs with various financial solutions. The partnership initially means that Froda will be a financing partner and that Juni will have the opportunity to use Froda's capital pool for its services through embedded financing.

About Juni
Juni was founded in 2020 by Samir El-Sabini and Anders Orsedal with the ambition to create the global corporate bank of the future. Listed as the fastest growing fintech startup in Europe in 2021, Juni gives businesses and finance teams access to modern banking services, expense management, financing and automated accounting - all in one platform.

For more information about Juni, please visit: www.juni.co

About Froda
Froda was founded in 2015 with the ambition to redefine business finance by making it more accessible and efficient for SMEs. Froda creates opportunities for all entrepreneurs, regardless of background, to realize their business ideas. Using digital processes and technological innovation, Froda has revolutionized the loan process, shortening it from months to minutes - with a focus on providing fast, fair and inclusive financing.

Today, Froda is one of Europe's fastest growing tech companies, backed by investors such as Karl-Johan Persson, Nicklas Storåkers and Victor Jacobsson. In 2021, Froda launched an embedded finance initiative, through which the company has expanded to the Nordic region, the UK and Germany, and 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

Froda has received increased support from the European Investment Fund (EIF) through the InvestEU program, enabling Froda to lend an additional half a billion SEK to small businesses and promote growth in the Nordic region. A guarantee from the EIF that allows Froda to offer loans with more favorable terms to companies in Sweden, Denmark and Finland with up to nine employees.

"Access to finance remains a problem across the EU, especially for the smallest businesses," said EIF Managing Director Marjut Falkstedt. "Through specific initiatives like this InvestEU guarantee, Froda can improve its lending conditions and reach out to a riskier segment of micro-entrepreneurs because we guarantee part of the risk. This is a clear example of how EU funding can help the most vulnerable entrepreneurs, and we are pleased that the partnership with Froda is contributing to this."

The EIF guarantee will allow Froda to offer even better conditions and to reach new market segments. The European support will specifically benefit microloans in the high-risk start-up segment, where loan requirements have previously been too high. This will lead to improved access to finance across the Nordic region.

"The partnership with the EIF is fully in line with our vision to help as many small businesses as possible with financing. Through the program, we can help even more entrepreneurs, especially micro-enterprises, a segment that has historically been difficult to lend to. In the first weeks, we have seen that over 50 percent of our customers have already received support through the program," says Olle Lundin, CEO and co-founder, Froda.

There are 25 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe and a lack of available finance is one of the main barriers to growth. The EIF's InvestEU programme aims to help Europe's micro-businesses access the necessary finance through partnerships with companies that are experts in lending to micro-businesses. Froda expects to help around 3 500 micro-enterprises through the program, with an average loan amount of around SEK 160 000 (€13,838), in the three Nordic countries where the guarantee will be implemented.

Backgroundinformation
European Investment Fund (EIF): The EIB is the European Union's long-term financing institution and is owned by the EU Member States. The Bank provides long-term financing for economically viable investments to contribute to EU policy objectives.

The InvestEU program provides the European Union with essential long-term financing by mobilizing significant private and public funds to support a sustainable recovery. The programme also helps mobilize private investment for EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings together under one roof many different EU financial instruments previously available to support investment in the European Union, making it easier, more efficient and more flexible to finance investment projects in Europe. The programme consists of three parts: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through implementing partners who invest in projects with the help of the €26.2 billion EU budget guarantee. The entire budget guarantee supports the investment projects of the Implementing Partners, increasing their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilizing at least €372 billion of additional investment.

Froda was founded in 2015 with the ambition to redefine business finance by making it more accessible and efficient for SMEs. Froda creates opportunities for all entrepreneurs, regardless of their background, to realize their business ideas. Using digital processes and technological innovation, Froda has revolutionized the loan process, shortening it from months to minutes - with a focus on providing fast, fair and inclusive financing. Today, Froda is one of Europe's fastest growing tech companies, backed by investors such as Karl-Johan Persson, Nicklas Storåkers and Victor Jacobsson. In 2021, Froda launched an embedded finance initiative, through which the company has expanded to the Nordic region, the UK and Germany, and 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

In recent years, Froda has experienced strong growth and increased focus on embedded finance. Visma Finance is now joining Froda Embedded as another partner. The collaboration means that the companies together launch a new product within invoice loans.

Froda's technology platform, Froda Embedded, enables partners to offer business loans and new types of financing solutions to their customers. The partnership with Visma Finance provides small business owners with greater flexibility through a new type of loan product. Unlike a regular business loan, the loan is not paid to the customer but is used to pay the invoice automatically.

- "With Froda Embedded, we can give more actors the opportunity to offer financing to their customers based on their needs. This contributes to our vision of helping as many entrepreneurs as possible to access financing," says Olle Lundin, CEO and co-founder of Froda.

Visma Finance is one of Sweden's leading players in built-in invoice financing for small and medium-sized companies. Through the partnership, entrepreneurs who have received an invoice from a supplier using Visma Finance can split the payment of the invoice through an invoice loan, while the invoicing company does not have to wait for payment.

- "We are very excited about the partnership with Froda and the opportunities it brings to us and our customers. We strive to be a complete solution for small business owners and Froda has a market-leading product for lending to small business owners that we look forward to offering," says Martin Källum, Chief Product Officer at Visma.

About Froda

About Visma Finance
As part of the Visma Group, Visma Finance AB is a leader in solutions for embedded corporate finance in business and financial systems in Sweden. Read more: vismafinance.se

Visma is a leading provider of business-critical software in the cloud, with a turnover of EUR 2.06 billion in 2022, 15,000 employees and 1.7 million customers in Europe and Latin America. By simplifying and automating the work of businesses and organizations of all sizes, we enable a more efficient and prosperous society. Visit us at visma.se

Fintech company Froda has shown strong growth in recent years. Since its inception, Froda has supported small and medium-sized enterprises with over SEK 10.5 billion. Now the company is taking the next step in its growth journey by entering the Irish market. The expansion takes place through the partnership with Treyd.

- Creating a globally viable financing solution for small businesses has been our goal since the beginning. The past year's expansion is clear evidence that we have come a long way on this journey. Last year, we helped entrepreneurs in five different markets access finance. In 2024, we hope to double that number," said Olle Lundin, CEO and co-founder of Froda.

In recent years, Froda has focused on international expansion through Froda Embedded. In 2023, the company established itself in two new markets and increased its international portfolio by over 800%. Froda Embedded is a technology platform that other fintech companies and banks can join to offer financing or business loans to their customers.

- "With our Embedded financing product, we can help growth companies offer their customers flexible financing solutions through simple API integrations. Partnering with Treyd means we can help each other scale and make our financing solution available to many more merchants," says Stella Snickare, VP Froda Embedded.

One of the partners that has joined Froda Embedded is fintech company Treyd, whose 'Sell first, pay supplier later' solution has made financing inventory purchases easier, more flexible and more accessible for growing businesses trading physical products.

Using Froda Embedded's API integrations, Treyd can now offer even more flexible financing options to merchants in Ireland as well.

- The partnership with Froda has enabled a faster expansion, both geographically and operationally. It has helped us to support even more merchants with financing," says Peter Beckman, CEO and co-founder of Treyd.

The entry into the Irish market brings Froda's presence to seven markets: Sweden, the UK, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Ireland.

Janna Naser, the founder of Alga Insulation, was awarded Froda's Female Entrepreneur of the Future scholarship yesterday during the Tomorrow ́s Founders event. The 19-year-old from Örebro now wants to revolutionize the construction industry by producing insulation from algae.

The Female Entrepreneur of the Future scholarship aims to promote female entrepreneurs in the start-up phase and inspire more women to start businesses. Through the award, Janna now receives SEK 100,000 to invest in the company.

- "It's an incredible honor just to be nominated for Froda's scholarship for future female entrepreneurs. But to also win feels incredibly big. We are in great need of money in the start-up phase and the scholarship will help me realize my visions for Alga Insulation, says Janna Naser, founder of Alga Insulation.

During high school, the 19-year-old started Alga Insulation to address the problem created by algae washed up from the sea, which leads to eutrophication if left behind. Since graduating, she has continued to run the company and, with the help of researchers at RISE, the Research Institute of Sweden, Alga Insulation is developing insulation materials based on seaweed. The method has the potential not only to lead to more sustainable construction but also to help reduce eutrophication in the oceans.

- Janna has distinguished herself with her courage and her ability to gather an impressive network around her vision to revolutionize the construction industry. The construction industry today accounts for a large part of Sweden's total emissions and through Alga Insulation's solution - she not only addresses a critical problem but has also introduced a groundbreaking solution with great potential to change the world for the better, says Olle Lundin, CEO and co-founder of Froda.

The construction industry currently accounts for more than a fifth of Sweden's total emissions each year. Alga Insulation wants to reduce emissions by revolutionizing how insulation is produced. According to Janna, the hope is that production will be up and running within two years.

- Through our solution, we hope to contribute to the construction industry becoming increasingly sustainable. Demand for insulation materials is increasing and many are adding insulation to reduce high electricity costs. We hope to have a finished product on the market within two years," says Janna Naser.

Jury's motivation
The winner of the Female Entrepreneur of the Future award has not only distinguished herself with her courage, her knowledge and her strong ability to rally an impressive network around her vision, but also demonstrated a strong drive in an industry that is rarely characterized by simplicity when it comes to change. Through her company, she has not only addressed a critical problem, but has also introduced a groundbreaking solution with real potential to change our world for the better.

This year's winner is a role model who has dug gold where others see problems, and we hope this mentality will continue to inspire, and warm up, many generations after her.

About the scholarship
The scholarship is Froda's way of recognizing young female entrepreneurs, and the Future Female Entrepreneur award was established in 2022. The scholarship is worth SEK 100,000 and aims to provide young women who want to or have started a business with capital that enables the realization of their idea.

The assessment criteria for the grant are drive, sustainability, creativity, feasibility, problem solving, the impact the company would have and the impact the money would have on the company.

More than half of Europe's small businesses struggle to access finance. As a step in making business finance more accessible, Froda is expanding its partnership with Visa and scaling up its offering in Europe. This means that more fintech companies and banks can access Froda's card-based embedded lending product and offer business loans to their customers.

More than 50% of Europe's small businesses lack external finance, despite it being a fundamental factor for growth.* In times of economic stress, access to finance becomes even more important. The partnership between Froda and Visa will address this and help SMEs access finance in real time with automated credit decisions and payments through Visa Direct.

- "Card-based embedded lending is an important step in making business finance available to small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe. Through our joint effort, we hope to promote innovation and growth in Europe," says Philip Konopik, Regional Managing Director Nordics & Baltics at Visa.

Through the expanded partnership, Visa and Froda aim to bring card-based embedded lending to more players in more markets. The product works in the same way as a traditional business loan, but thanks to Visa's global card infrastructure, card-based embedded lending is both faster and easier to scale to different markets. This creates opportunities for other fintech companies and banks to both scale their operations and expand their offerings.

- The partnership with Visa is a major milestone for us, so it feels great to expand it. We are proud of what we have achieved so far and are convinced that the solution will help entrepreneurs in Europe, Olle Lundin, CEO and co-founder of Froda.

Card-based embedded lending was launched in June and is available in Denmark through Lunar and in Germany through Kontist, part of the Ageras Group. In 2024, Visa and Froda plan to expand the product to more markets and partners. This expansion is in line with Froda's vision to provide accessible and innovative financial solutions for small and medium-sized businesses across Europe.

- Since the product was launched in June, we have successfully launched it with two partners in two markets and seen a great interest within the industry. We look forward to expanding card-based embedded lending to further markets and giving more entrepreneurs access to finance," says Stella Snickare, VP Froda Embedded.

The product was launched in June and is available in Denmark through Lunar and in Germany through Kontist, part of the Ageras Group.

* Eurostat, Statista, Allianz, Froda

Since 1980, the proportion of female entrepreneurs has increased by just one percentage point and only a quarter of all entrepreneurs in Sweden are women. To encourage more women to start and run businesses, Froda awards the "Female Entrepreneur of the Future" scholarship. This year, the scholarship received almost 200 applications and now the five finalists can be presented: Maria Niclason, Edith Heppich, Lovisa Sunnerholm, Janna Naser and Sabelle Beraki.

The winner of the Female Entrepreneur of the Future scholarship will be presented during Froda's Tomorrow's Founders event on March 7. Tomorrow's Founders is a recurring event organized by Froda that highlights today's and tomorrow's entrepreneurs. The event aims to inspire more people to start their own business in general, as well as to encourage more gender equality and diversity in business in particular. The evening will be chaired by Klara Adolphson and during the event Susanne Najafi (BackingMinds), Sania Claus Demina (sania d'mina) and Dora Palfi (imagi) will talk about their entrepreneurial journeys.

- The purpose of the grant is to help improve the conditions for female entrepreneurs and give more women the opportunity to invest in their ideas. That's why it's great that we have received so many applications and fantastic ideas. All of the finalists are really good examples of the female entrepreneurs of the future," says Olle Lundin, CEO and co-founder of Froda.

Established in 2022, the scholarship will be awarded for the second time this year. The winner is awarded SEK 100,000 to invest in their business and aims to provide women who want to, or have just started a business, with capital that enables the realization of their idea.

Do you want to be present at the event? Register for the event here: https://tomorrowsfounders2024....

The finalists:

Maria Niclason, After Class
Maria Niclason is a real estate entrepreneur from the US who moved to Sweden to explore new avenues in her entrepreneurship. Today, Maria lives in Järfälla and runs the company After Class, a platform that revolutionizes how parents and teenagers discover and engage in leisure activities. After Class brings together a wide range of classes and courses in areas such as sports, art and technology that make it easier for young people to shape their leisure time and lay the foundation for increased well-being and personal development.

Edith Heppich, Hyggligt
Edith Heppich is a lawyer from Hallsberg whose passion for climate issues led her to invest in sustainable forestry. In 2023, she founded Hyggligt, which wants to change the way we use the forest and make it economically profitable with clear-cut forestry. Hyggligt works to develop solutions that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mitigate the effects of climate change and increase biodiversity.

Lovisa Sunnerholm, Enkei
Lovisa Sunnerholm is a marketer who left a successful career, with high positions in multinational companies, to start her own company focused on circular design. In less than a year, her company Enkei has gone from being just an idea, to having produced its first product: a table lamp made of mostly waste and designed to make the sustainable choice the attractive one and highlight circular solutions. In the process, they have also developed a proprietary material based on Europe's third largest source of waste: the construction and demolition industry. The material consists of over 90% waste and instead of conventional concrete sand, Enkei uses ceramic waste from construction sites, tackling the problems of both sand mining and improper disposal of ceramic waste that is currently landfilled.

Janna Naser, Alga Insulation
Janna Naser is the 19-year-old from Örebro who, despite being only 19 years old, has her sights set on revolutionizing the way insulation is produced. During high school, she founded Alga Insulation to address the problem created by seaweed washed up from the sea, which leads to eutrophication if it is put back. Since graduating, she has continued to run the company and, with the help of researchers at RISE, the Research Institute of Sweden, Alga Insulation is developing insulation materials based on seaweed. The method has the potential not only to lead to more sustainable construction but also to help reduce eutrophication in the oceans.

Sabelle Beraki, Bells Toys
Sabelle Beraki is the entrepreneur from the south of Stockholm who has paved the way for a more inclusive and representative toy industry in Sweden. After going her whole life without finding dolls that represented her own identity, she decided to take matters into her own hands and founded Bells Toys. With the goal of improving the confidence and self-esteem of children, Bells Toys manufactures dolls with a focus on diversity and representation and today Sabelle's dolls are sold all over the country.

In recent years, tech company Froda has expanded to the UK, Denmark, Norway and Finland. Now, the company is taking the next step in its expansion journey by setting up in Germany in partnership with German neobank Kontist, part of the Ageras Group. The expansion means that Froda is now present in six markets.

Froda's vision is to help as many entrepreneurs as possible to access finance on good terms. There are 25 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe, and in Europe's largest economy, Germany, SMEs employ 18.5 million people. Despite this, the lack of access to finance is one of the biggest obstacles for smaller companies looking to grow. In 2021, Froda launched the Froda Embedded technology platform to make business finance available in Europe through partnerships with banks and corporates.

- Germany is Europe's largest economy and a business-dense market. Our vision has always been to make financing available to all small and medium-sized enterprises, something we have specialized in for eight years. Expanding into the German market will therefore be an important milestone for Froda. We look forward to being able to support German entrepreneurs with their financing needs through the collaboration with Ageras," says Olle Lundin, co-founder and CEO of Froda.

Froda Embedded was launched with the aim of enabling companies and banks across Europe to offer financing directly to their customers by integrating Froda's platform into their existing product. Over the past year, lending and the number of customers via Froda Embedded has almost tripled, which has been a major contributor to Froda's near 100% growth and 800% increase in the international loan portfolio. The partnership with Ageras, one of Germany's leading providers of integrated banking, accounting and tax services via Kontist, means that 50,000 German entrepreneurs can now access SME finance.

- The solution means that payments can be made automatically via the company card and the process takes seconds, rather than several banking days. This is something that can be crucial for an entrepreneur when an opportunity arises, but perhaps even more important in tough times like now. The fact that Ageras wants to launch this product together with us on the German market is exciting to say the least," says Stella Snickare, VP Froda Embedded.

In November, Froda announced a partnership with Ageras, as part of the company's growth and expansion journey. Froda is now entering Germany together with Ageras. The partnership means that Germany will be the second market in the world to gain access to Froda's card-based embedded lending technology. Card-based embedded lending is a new innovation in the market and aims to make it easier for more entrepreneurs to access finance directly via their Visa business card.

- We know that German entrepreneurs have a great need to access business finance, but we haven't found an internal model to solve the problem. By partnering with Froda, we can now offer a scalable product to our German customers that will help more entrepreneurs grow," says Martin Hegelund, co-founder of Ageras.

The product will be launched in Germany in February 2024.

The Future Female Founder scholarship was established in 2022 by Froda with the aim of promoting and supporting female entrepreneurs in the start-up phase, and encouraging more women to take the plunge and start a business. The jury for 2024, consisting of prominent entrepreneurs and investors, is now announced.

The scholarship is worth SEK 100 000 and is awarded annually to a first-time female entrepreneur. It is aimed at women who have started a business in 2023 or plan to start in the coming year. This year's jury includes several renowned profiles from Astrid Wild, Imagi, Spotify and Froda.

Jury Women Entrepreneurs of the Future 2024:

DoraPalfi, CEO and Co-Founder, Imagi.
Dora is Co-Founder and CEO of imagi, an edtech company redefining access to education in programming. In 2021, she was named on Forbes 30 Under 30 list as one of Europe's leading social entrepreneurs and she is a Cartier Women's Initiative Fellow.

Olle Lundin, CEO and Co-Founder, Froda.
Olle Lundin is CEO and co-founder of Froda. With a background in finance, law and the startup world, he wants to promote diversity and equality in entrepreneurship through Froda. Being an entrepreneur should not be a class issue. Before Froda, Olle co-founded Curamando, now Arc Group.

Maria Paulsson Rönnbäck, co-founder, Astrid Wild.
Maria Paulsson Rönnbäck is co-founder and marketing manager at Astrid Wild, outdoor clothing for the female form. She has a degree in Marketing & Strategy from the Stockholm School of Economics, has been in the start-up phase of two technology companies where she has worked as COO and CMO and has been part of the management team.

Donna Hanafi, angel investor and product manager, Spotify.
Donna is a well-known investor and entrepreneur. She has co-founded Mentimeter, led the product team at Tictail (Shopify), worked on Volvo's social innovation program, and served on the board of the SSE Business Lab. Today she is Senior Product Manager at Spotify.

Simon Strindberg, investor and COO, Froda.
Simon Strindberg is a tech professional with extensive experience working at fast-growing companies. Today Simon is COO at Froda. Prior to Froda, Simon held the role of CCO, CMO and partner at Budbee and held several senior positions at Klarna. Simon is also an investor in several startups and tech companies.

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

• Identify as a woman
• Registered in Sweden
• Of legal age at the time of application
• Not have operated a business before, or have established their first business no earlier than January 1, 2023.

The application for the scholarship is open until December 31, 2023: froda.se/stipendier/framtidens-kvinnliga-foretagare/

Froda continues to be aggressive on the recruitment front. After bringing in a number of big names over the past year, the company is now bringing in Roger Forsberg as its new CTO. Roger has over 25 years of experience from leading tech roles at Avanza, Klarna and Pricerunner. He will take up his new role on December 4, 2023.

Roger Forsberg has extensive experience of building and leading tech departments at rapidly scaling companies. He comes most recently from a role as Engineering Director at Klarna, where he was responsible for the technical integration of Pricerunner. He has previously also been CTO at both Avanza and Pricerunner.

- Roger's experience in building and leading tech departments with great results will be a great asset for us. We are in a phase where we are scaling rapidly and need to invest in tech and expand the team to match the high demand. Roger's expertise will be central to the development of our technical platform and for future innovation work," says Olle Lundin, CEO and founder of Froda.

For the past 25 years, Roger has held senior positions and worked closely with one of Froda's early investors, Nicklas Storåkers.

- "It will be incredibly exciting to follow Froda's journey with Roger in place. I have worked with both of them for a long time and I am convinced that it will be a good match. The work Roger has done at Avanza and Pricerunner has been incredibly valuable for those companies," says Nicklas Storåkers.

At Froda, Roger will have a key role in further developing the technical platform and setting the strategy for Froda's loan product as well as the strategic investment in embedded financing.

- I am impressed by Froda, the way the founders built the company, the pace of innovation and the results achieved so far. Froda has a great product that provides access to finance for small business owners. This benefits not only the individual entrepreneur but also society at large. This is something that is important to me when I choose companies to get involved in," says Roger Forsberg, CTO of Froda.

Froda has made strong progress on several fronts recently. The recruitment of Roger Forsberg also means that Froda's former CTO, Astrid de Laval, takes on the role of VP of Engineering. Together, Roger and Astrid will lead the tech department and the development of Froda's technical platform.

- The combination of strong business, committed founders and great working environment makes Froda a perfect place for me to contribute to the next phase of technological innovation," concludes Roger Forsberg.

Nordic tech companies Froda and Ageras have entered into a strategic partnership to make SME financing available in Europe. The partnership means that over 300,000 of Ageras' small business customers will have access to financing through Froda Embedded. The partnership is part of Froda's international expansion and growth journey.

Froda is one of Sweden's fastest growing fintech companies and has helped over 50,000 companies access financing. Ageras is a leading provider of banking, accounting and administration software with over 300,000 small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers across Europe.

- Our vision since the start has been to help as many small business owners as possible to access finance. Through the partnership with Ageras, we can support even more entrepreneurs in Europe with finance," says Olle Lundin, CEO and co-founder of Froda.

In Europe, SMEs make up 99% of all businesses, employ 100 million people and generate more than half of Europe's GDP. Despite this, access to finance is one of the biggest barriers for small businesses in Europe to grow. Solutions that make finance available to small businesses are therefore crucial for Europe's growth.

- "Together with Froda, we can scale up our corporate finance offering and provide our customers with an even broader range of financial services," says Martin Hegelund, co-founder of Ageras, and continues

- Our research shows that 68% of small businesses are looking for finance, but the majority can't get it from traditional banks. With Froda, we give our customers access to 'smart' finance by allowing them to use their financial, banking and accounting data to get a credit decision in seconds.

Ageras is a leading provider of banking, accounting and administration software for small businesses in Europe, with over 300,000 active customers using products such as Billy, Zervant and Kontist. The partnership with Froda will allow Ageras to expand its offering to include corporate finance.

- Our Embedded platform makes it easy for other fintech companies and neobanks to expand internationally and scale up their operations. The partnership with Ageras marks an exciting new phase for us," says Stella Snickare, VP of Froda Embedded.

Launched in 2021, Froda Embedded has been a success story since its inception and a strong contributor to Froda's growth. Over the past year, the business area has grown by 100 percent, increasing the number of partners from three to nine and expanding from three to five markets. Through the partnership with Ageras, the reach is further increased and Froda will be able to reach out to and help more European small businesses with financing.

About Froda
Froda was founded in 2015 with a clear purpose - to revolutionize the banking experience for entrepreneurs by making it easy and affordable for them to invest in their ideas. By digitizing the process, being data-driven and applying machine learning, Froda can not only be faster than traditional banks, they can also be more objective, accurate and fair in their assessments. Today, Froda is one of Sweden's fastest growing fintech companies with big international growth plans. Since its inception, the company has helped more than 50,000 businesses grow and through Froda Embedded, Froda enables partners to connect to its technologically advanced financing platform to offer financing to their customers.

About Ageras
Ageras is a banking and accounting platform for small business owners. Its one-stop platform integrates its solutions into a single financial hub for invoicing, accounting, payroll and banking, enabling small business owners and entrepreneurs to focus on running their businesses. The 250-person strong company was founded in Denmark in 2012 and now serves over 300,000 small businesses across Europe.

Founded in 2022, buy-now-pay-later company Waylog has grown its total lending from SEK 20 million to SEK 500 million and expanded into four new markets. A key factor behind Waylog's rapid growth has been their early collaboration with Froda as a financing partner, which has given them easy access to capital. The partnership is part of Froda's international expansion journey.

Froda Embedded was launched in 2021 as a business area within Froda and aims to help fintech companies and banks scale their offering and expand into new markets through seamless API integration. Waylog is a clear example of how embedded financing enables the development of scalable financing solutions that become increasingly sophisticated as a company grows. Over time, Waylog's level of integration has evolved in parallel with increasing portfolio, transaction volume and technical foundation. The company now operates a fully automated, customized API solution ready to support its continued growth and expansion.

- With Embedded financing, we can help growth companies offer their customers flexible financing solutions. Before we had deposit authorization from FI, access to smart and flexible capital was a major growth inhibitor for us. Now we can help Waylog avoid the same challenge. It's great to be part of their growth journey," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

In just one year, Waylog has evolved from a newcomer to a trusted supply chain financier for hundreds of businesses in the Nordics and the UK. Through Waylog's platform, customers can apply for a free credit line, which can be used to pay up to 120 days before repayment to Waylog is due. This allows customers to optimize their liquidity, secure better order terms and inject capital into their businesses without giving up control or ownership. Waylog's platform is backed by Froda Embedded as a financier. Its rapid growth journey is a good example of how Froda Embedded can help fintechs and banks grow.

- Waylog fundamentally revitalizes an old financial product and makes it more customized and flexible to meet our customers' unique needs. The possibility of easy integration and the potential to scale outside Sweden has been crucial to our ability to grow at the pace we have. Froda has played a crucial role in this," says Jens Malmqvist, co-founder of Waylog.

About Waylog
Founded in 2022 by Jens Malmqvist and Nils Ohlsén, Waylog has experienced exponential growth from the start, quickly becoming a trusted partner for importing companies in the Nordics, UK. Since its inception, Waylog's total lending has SEK 500 million in funding, representing a remarkable growth of 2500 percent. The company has also expanded its services to include several Nordic countries and the UK.

About Froda
Froda was founded in 2015 with a clear purpose - to revolutionize the banking experience for entrepreneurs by making it easy and affordable for them to invest in their ideas. By digitizing the process, being data-driven and applying machine learning, we can not only be faster than traditional banks. We can also be more objective, accurate and fair in our assessments. Today, we are one of Sweden's fastest growing fintech companies with big international growth plans. Since our inception, we've helped more than 50,000 businesses grow, and through Froda Embedded, we've enabled partners to connect to our technologically advanced financing platform to offer financing to their customers.

On October 11, the application for the scholarship "Future Female Founder" opens. The grant is aimed at female entrepreneurs who are either planning to start a business, or have started a business in the last year.*

Only a quarter of all entrepreneurs in Sweden are women, which is below the EU average. Since 1980, the number of female entrepreneurs has increased by one percentage point. To encourage more women to start and run businesses, the tech company Froda launched a scholarship for future female founders 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 worth SEK 100,000 and will be awarded annually to a female entrepreneur. In 2023, Miranda Matti took home the prize with her innovative homework help platform Lexflix.

- Sweden is below the EU average when it comes to female entrepreneurship. This is despite being one of the most gender equal countries in the world. To break the negative trend, we need 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 need to either have started a business after January 1, 2023, or have a business idea that you will start up within a year. The application is open until December 31, 2023 and the award ceremony will be held on International Women's Day, March 8, 2024.

The application period for the scholarship is between October 11 - December 31, 2023.

Read more about the scholarship and apply here: https://froda.se/stipendier/framtidens-kvinnliga-foretagare/

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

• Identify as a woman
• Registered in Sweden
• Of legal age at the time of application
• Not have operated a business before, or have established a business no earlier than January 1, 2023.

* After January 1, 2023.

Swedish fintech company Froda, together with Visa and Checkout.com, has developed a new financing product aimed at banks and fintechs that want to support small and medium-sized enterprises, a segment that has historically been difficult to reach, assess and finance without heavy administration, infrastructure and local payment solutions. The product now gives banks and fintechs the opportunity to expand internationally, without having to implement different solutions per market.

Visa enables secure and fast real-time transfers between countries, currencies and bank customers globally through its Visa Direct service. Now, this service has been integrated in a new way in a partnership with fintech company Froda, which specializes in financing for small and medium-sized enterprises, and Checkout.com, the world's leading payment solutions platform. The partnership has resulted in an innovation that provides a new, reliable and global method of disbursing business loans to SMEs.

- We know that the implementation of local financing solutions is a challenge for many players when they want to establish themselves in new markets. With this solution, we have created an entirely new infrastructure that is globally viable. By using Visa Direct, we can strengthen our offering in integrated corporate finance in different markets, thus helping millions of entrepreneurs with growth capital," says Olle Lundin, co-founder and CEO of Froda.

The financing product is offered through Froda Embedded and enables all Visa corporate cardholders to now also offer corporate loans without having to have all the infrastructure in place themselves. It will primarily facilitate traditional big banks and neobanks wishing to support businesses with capital, but it can also be applied to all companies that provide Visa corporate cards to their customers.

Demand for a product like this is high as small businesses have long struggled to access finance.In Europe, SMEs make up 99% of all businesses, employ 100 million people and account for over half of Europe's GDP.

- We are always looking for new innovative partnerships, products and ways to solve complex challenges. Finding new innovative uses for Visa's card infrastructure is definitely part of that vision. I am convinced that this is the future of payments and embedded financing," says Adel Naamneh, VP Global Strategic Revenue Growth at Checkout.com.

Unlike traditional corporate finance, which usually involves bank transfers and local implementations in new markets, Froda's product enables real-time transfers to over 200 countries. This means that money is transferred directly between accounts through Visa's card network. The solution is made possible through a partnership with global payment provider Checkout.com, which provides access to Visa Direct and the Visa Token service.

- "With this product, we are introducing a completely new use case for Visa Direct. My hope is that this will set a new standard for business loans and empower businesses across Europe in their ambition to grow," says Philip Konopik, Regional Managing Director at Visa in the Nordics and Baltics.

The product allows partners to offer a fully digital and automated credit assessment process and real-time credit decisions through Froda. Visa Direct also enables payments to be made without delay, reducing the time from application to payment to seconds.

The product was introduced in February 2023 and launched on the Danish market in June of the same year together with the digital bank Lunar. The product is offered to Froda Embedded partners who are providers of Visa Business Cards.

Fintech company Froda has recently recruited Albin Christiansson as Brand Design Director. With the recruitment, Froda strengthens the team to further develop the brand and visual identity.

- We are extremely pleased to welcome Albin to Froda. He has an impressive track record and has previously worked successfully in similar roles at Forsman & Bodenfors and SEB. We look forward to seeing Albin continue to develop our design work and build a strong visual identity for Froda," says Kajsa Lundborg, CMO at Froda.

Albin Christiansson has a solid background in brand design and has previously worked at Essen, Forsman & Bodenfors and SEB. At Froda, Albin will be responsible for the development of the visual identity and brand as well as working with the company's brand strategy.

- Froda is in an incredibly exciting phase, with new products, international expansion and a strong drive to improve entrepreneurs' financing opportunities. I am incredibly excited to be part of this great team and to be part of Froda's journey," says Albin Christiansson.

In addition to the recruitment of Albin Christiansson, Froda has doubled the size of its marketing department over the past year, recruiting four people to the team. The recruitments include Johanna Sturk as PR & Communication Manager, Sandra Khatemi as Brand Marketing Manager, Felix Lindholm as Junior Marketing Creative, and Johanna Bjurhammar as Growth Marketing Specialist.

The last few years have been challenging for many small businesses, with rising costs and an uncertain business environment. As a result, the need to borrow to cover unforeseen expenses has increased. However, new statistics from business lender Froda show a reversal of this trend, as the need to renovate and invest in machinery increases.

The need to cover unforeseen expenses has increased among Sweden's small business owners in recent quarters. However, statistics from the second quarter of the year show a positive change: for the first time in a year, the need is decreasing and small businesses are investing for the future.

- It is positive to see that many companies are starting to invest and invest for the future again after a tough period. The fact that the need to cover unforeseen expenses is decreasing is a good sign, even if the levels are higher than a year ago. The fact that we see an increased willingness to invest in machinery and renovations indicates that Sweden's entrepreneurs have once again begun to look ahead," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

Sweden's small business owners have chosen to invest in improving the efficiency and quality of their operations during the second quarter of 2023. Froda's statistics show strong growth in investments in machinery and renovations, where investments in machinery have increased by almost 14 percent during the quarter and renovations have increased by 13 percent.

- The fact that investments in machinery and renovations are increasing shows that small businesses are committed to strengthening their businesses and meeting future challenges. Something that is important to maintain a competitive position in the market and ensure long-term growth," continues Olle Lundin.

About the statistics
Every quarter, Froda compiles statistics showing what Swedish small businesses invested in during the last quarter. The statistics come from Froda's databases and are based on information about thousands of companies.

Contingencies:
Compared to previous quarter: -21.8%
Compared to same quarter last year: 35.5%

Machinery:
Compared to previous quarter: 13.9%
Compared to same quarter last year: 31.7%

Renovation:
Compared to previous quarter: 13.0%
Compared to same quarter last year: 8.1%

General liquidity:
Compared with the previous quarter: 0.3%
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year: -10.6%

Inventories:
Compared with the previous quarter: -1.1%
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year: 8.1%

Seasonalinvestments:
Compared with the previous quarter: -17.5%
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year: -2.5%

Froda is launching its card-based embedded lending in Denmark together with Lunar and Visa. The launch follows a successful test period and aims to make it easier for Danish small businesses to access financing on favorable terms, in order to secure capital to drive growth.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up 99% of all Danish businesses* and play an important role in Denmark's economy and competitiveness. Nevertheless, SMEs often face obstacles when they need financing, limiting their growth potential.

Therefore, the Swedish fintech company Froda, in collaboration with Visa, has developed card-based embedded lending, a new type of integrated financing solution that uses card infrastructure for disbursements and repayments. The solution is offered as a white-label product through Froda Embedded to partners who are issuers of Visa corporate cards.

- It started with an idea and a sketch on a piece of paper over a year ago, and now it has become a reality thanks to the partnership with Visa and Lunar. We have had a strong demand for the solution among Danish entrepreneurs during the test period, which makes Denmark a natural next step in our journey, says Olle Lundin, co-founder and CEO of Froda.

The process for the product is fully digital and by using Visa cards for disbursements and repayments, the entire loan process can be shortened from the two months that has historically been standard, to a few minutes. The breakthrough ensures that small business owners have access to a solution that is both fast and efficient when they need financing.

- "We are constantly looking for new, innovative ways to use the card infrastructure, for example through strong partnerships. In collaboration with Froda and Lunar, we can digitize the entire loan process and ensure a fast and smooth process that benefits small businesses," says Philip Konopik, Regional Managing Director at Visa in the Nordics and Baltics.

Card-based embedded management was introduced earlier this year. With Visa's presence in over 200 countries, the product offers a unified experience regardless of market, making it globally scalable. With the launch in the Danish market, Lunar becomes the first partner to implement the product in its offering.

- Lunar will be the first to launch a brand new type of financing for small businesses in Denmark. It is easy to apply via our app and customers receive a non-binding offer within minutes. In addition, we offer an attractive price guarantee, which makes the product competitive and contributes to our goal of building the best everyday bank in the Nordic region, especially for small businesses," says Mats Persson Bergius, Head of Sweden at Lunar.

During the spring, a selected group of Lunar's Danish customers were given the opportunity to test a beta version of the product. The results were positive, with more than half of the customers showing great interest in the product.

- It's great to see so much interest in the product. It shows that there is a great need for innovative financing solutions. The partnership with Visa and Lunar has great potential and makes it possible to scale our offering in more markets," says Stella Snickare, VP of Froda Embedded.

The product will be available to all Lunar customers in Denmark from June 20th. Lunar is building the best everyday bank for private and corporate customers and aims to facilitate business activities in Denmark. The partnership with Visa and Froda aims to increase financing opportunities, especially for smaller businesses.

SME Denmark: https://smvdanmark.dk/analyser/temaanalyser/smver-er-rygraden-i-dansk-erhvervsliv

Lunar
Lunar is a digital challenger bank with the goal of making it easier for consumers and businesses to manage their finances by building the best everyday bank in the Nordic region. Lunar was founded in Aarhus and has around 450 employees in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Stockholm and Oslo. In 2019, Lunar received a Danish banking license and is now one of the few banks with a Nordic banking platform. Today, Lunar has more than 700,000 consumer and business customers across the Nordic region.

About Visa
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the global leader in digital payments, offering transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, trusted and secure payment network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone, everywhere, also lift up everyone, everywhere - and we see accessibility as fundamental to the future of transactions. Read more at Visa.se.

About Froda
Froda was founded in 2015 with a clear idea - give small and medium-sized businesses the same opportunities to grow as large ones. The company's service makes it easy and affordable for entrepreneurs to invest in their ideas. By digitizing the process, Froda has made it possible to help more companies with financing tailored to their unique business and its needs. A smarter business loan, simply put.

Today, Froda is one of Sweden's fastest growing fintech companies and has helped more than 50,000 companies grow. The company is a credit institution covered by the state deposit guarantee and is under the supervision of Finansinspektionen (FI).

Entrepreneurship in Sweden is declining and only 6% of the population are currently entrepreneurs. However, a new report produced by Froda shows that the entrepreneurial potential is great. More than half of all Swedes want to start a business and among young people, two-thirds dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

The report Driv is a survey of Swedish entrepreneurship and Swedes' attitudes towards entrepreneurship, their driving forces and perceived obstacles. The report is based on data from Statistics Sweden and over 6500 interviews with Swedes through a survey with Norstat. The report shows that the entrepreneurial spirit in Sweden is high and that there are over 4 million potential entrepreneurs in Sweden.

- In the report, we see that there is a big gap between wanting and doing, which shows that Sweden is missing out on great potential and needs to do more to promote entrepreneurship," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

The main drivers are linked to self-determination. Two thirds want to work on what they want, half want to plan their own time and four out of ten want to be their own boss. At the same time, fear of financial impact, failure and lack of knowledge are seen as the main obstacles. Women are more likely than men to say they are hampered by confidence, knowledge and finance, while men cite time and family situation as the main obstacles.

- Sweden must take advantage of the great interest that exists in running a business, especially now that we see that bankruptcies are increasing and new businesses are declining. The negative spiral needs to be broken. The fact that the influence of the economy is one of the biggest obstacles to taking the step and becoming an entrepreneur also shows that entrepreneurship is still to some extent a class issue," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

Entrepreneurship in Sweden is still dominated by men, the elderly and high-income earners. 68% of entrepreneurs are men, seven out of ten entrepreneurs have a higher disposable household income than the average Swede and 32% are aged 65 or over. The share of female entrepreneurs in Sweden is lower than the EU average and the trend does not seem to be reversed. The report shows that not only are fewer women than men running businesses today, but also that women are less likely to want to start a business.

At the same time, the report shows that there is a high level of entrepreneurship among foreign-born people in Sweden. A full 5 percent of all foreign-born people in Sweden are entrepreneurs, which is just below the national average of 6 percent. Foreign-born women stand out and are more entrepreneurial than native-born women with two native-born parents.

- "Unfortunately, there is still a challenge with diversity and inclusion in the business world. Therefore, it is particularly gratifying to see that there is a high level of entrepreneurship among foreign-born people," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

The report shows that economic conditions, a unique business idea and more knowledge about entrepreneurship would make more Swedes dare to take the step to start a business.

Read the report at: https://froda.se/rapporten-dri...

Facts from the report:

• 52% of the population have considered starting a business.
• 6% of the population runs a business. Of which 8% of men and 4% of women in Sweden are entrepreneurs.
• The main drivers are being able to work on what I want (63%), planning my own time (50%) and being my own boss (43%).
• Continued challenge related to gender equality where women are less likely than men to say they have considered starting a business and are also under-represented when it comes to being an entrepreneur. Two-thirds of all entrepreneurs are men.
• Women and younger entrepreneurs are held back by a lack of finance and confidence.
• The most common concern for entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs was how their personal finances and income would be affected. More than four out of ten would start a business if money were not an issue.
• The share of those who have considered starting their own business increases with household income. Among those with the lowest household income, 47% have considered starting their own business. Among those with the highest household income, the corresponding figure is 57%.
• Immigration is crucial for increasing the number of entrepreneurs. Just over one in six entrepreneurs in Sweden is foreign-born. There is a higher proportion of women among foreign-born entrepreneurs compared to domestic-born entrepreneurs with two domestic-born parents (35% vs. 31%).
• Among those born outside Europe, half highlight access to finance as one of the main obstacles.
• A quarter of Sweden's entrepreneurs are located in Stockholm and more than half are active in the three metropolitan counties. However, the proportion of entrepreneurs is highest in Gotland and Jämtland, where one in ten inhabitants is an entrepreneur (10%). Fewer are found in Blekinge, Södermanland, Västmanland, Örebro and Östergötland, where only five percent of the population are entrepreneurs.

What is the state of Swedish entrepreneurship?
Six percent of the Swedish population are entrepreneurs, of which 8 percent of men and 4 percent of women are entrepreneurs. This means that two out of three entrepreneurs in Sweden are men.

A quarter of Sweden's entrepreneurs are in Stockholm and more than half are active in the three metropolitan counties. However, the proportion of entrepreneurs is highest in Gotland and Jämtland, where every tenth inhabitant is an entrepreneur. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Blekinge, Södermanland, Västmanland, Örebro and Östergötland have half as many entrepreneurs and only five percent of the population are entrepreneurs. Women and people with a foreign background are underrepresented when it comes to being entrepreneurs. Two thirds of all entrepreneurs are men and three out of four entrepreneurs are native-born with two native-born parents.

How the report is made:
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.

Entrepreneurship is an important part of Swedish society and the report aims to provide a deeper understanding of what drives entrepreneurs to start businesses and what barriers prevent others from doing the same.

Fintech company Froda has shown strong growth in recent years. Last fall, the company was valued at SEK 1.2 billion and since its inception, Froda has lent over SEK 6.5 billion. Now the company is taking the next step in its growth journey as it expands into the UK. The expansion takes place through the partnership with Treyd and means that Froda is present in five markets: the UK, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden.

In December, Froda announced a partnership with Treyd to make growth financing easier and more flexible for merchants importing and selling physical products, by offering financing for inventory purchases. In a situation where many merchants face challenges such as lack of liquidity, increased costs and logistics issues, the solution between Froda and Treyd enables improved predictability, scalability and flexibility of the end product through smart credit algorithms, data and technical integration.

- International expansion has long been one of our main goals. So far, the expansion has been focused on the Nordics, now we are taking the next step into Europe. We are in a business environment that makes it even more important for traders to have access to flexible financing. With this solution, we want to make it easier for entrepreneurs to release important growth capital," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

Historically, business finance has been difficult to access due to long waiting times, physical meetings and time-consuming administration. Froda was founded with the aim of changing this and thus contributing to a more equal and inclusive business community, where companies receive capital to grow through completely objective and digital assessment.

Since its inception in 2015, one of its objectives has been to expand internationally to help even more entrepreneurs globally. One step in that direction is to expand together with partners. In 2020, the company set up a business area focusing on embedded finance, of which the partnership with Treyd is an example. In addition to Treyd, Froda has partnerships with Lunar, Yabie and Worldline, among others, and launched a card-based embedded lending product with Visa earlier this year.

- With our Embedded financing product, we can help emerging companies offer their customers flexible financing solutions through a simple API integration. Partnering with Treyd means we can help each other scale and make our financing solution available to many more merchants. We have already launched the product in Sweden, Norway and Denmark and look forward to seeing how the product is received in the UK," says Stella Snickare, VP Froda Embedded.

About Treyd
Treyd is a fintech company that helps merchants grow by selling first and paying the supplier later. With simple and easy financing of goods purchases, companies can get discounts, free up working capital for investment in growth and use cheaper and greener logistics. Treyd has 57 employees with headquarters in Stockholm and offices in London and Cairo. treyd.io

About Froda
Froda was founded in 2015 with a clear idea - give small and medium-sized businesses the same opportunities to grow as large ones. The company's service makes it easy and affordable for entrepreneurs to invest in their ideas. By digitizing the process, Froda has made it possible to help more companies with financing tailored to their unique business and its needs. A smarter business loan, simply put.

Today, Froda is one of Sweden's fastest growing fintech companies and has helped more than 50,000 companies grow. The company is a credit institution covered by the state deposit guarantee and is under the supervision of Finansinspektionen (FI).

New statistics from the credit market company Froda show that the macro situation continues to affect Sweden's small businesses. In the first quarter of the year, the need to cover unforeseen expenses is increasing. But despite the tough times, there is cautious optimism, and small businesses continue to invest in inventory and machinery. At the same time, renovation and seasonal investments are decreasing.

Higher interest rates, rising electricity prices, more bankruptcies and prevailing inflation continue to affect Sweden's small businesses. The need to cover unforeseen expenses has increased over the past six months and the trend continues in the first quarter of the year. The category has increased by 3.3% compared to previous quarters and 51.5% compared to the same period last year. This indicates that the external environment remains challenging for Sweden's small businesses and that it is difficult to plan for the future.

- "The past year has been challenging for Sweden's entrepreneurs in many ways, with everything from increased bankruptcies and costs, which we clearly see in the statistics. The need for access to liquidity to cover unforeseen expenses has become even more important," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

Despite the challenging external environment, there is cautious optimism among Sweden's small business owners who continue to invest in inventory and machinery. The category of purchases of inventories has increased by 11.2% compared to previous quarters and 46.7% compared to last year. The category of machinery purchases has increased by 2.5% compared to previous quarters and 22.7% compared to the same period last year.

- "Right now, we are facing a tough external environment that affects many parts of society, and entrepreneurs are definitely one of them. Therefore, it is gratifying to see that entrepreneurs continue to invest in their companies and plan for the future, despite increased costs and an unpredictable business environment," concludes Olle Lundin.

About the statistics:
Every quarter, Froda compiles statistics showing what Swedish small businesses invested in the last quarter. The statistics come from Froda's databases and are based on information about thousands of companies.

Unforeseenexpenses
Compared to previous quarters: 3.3%
Compared to previous years: 51.5%

Purchase of inventories
Compared to previous quarter: 11.2%
Compared to previous year: 46.7%

Purchase of machinery
Compared to previous quarter: 2.5%
Compared to previous year: 22.7%

Renovation
Compared to previous quarter: -9.8%
Compared with previous year: 9.3%

General liquidity
Compared with previous quarter: -2.6%
Compared with previous year: -4.9%

Investment for next season
Compared with previous quarter: -7.5%
Compared with previous year: 7.1%

Miranda Matti, founder of Lexflix, was awarded Froda's "Future Female Founder" scholarship yesterday during the "Tomorrow's Founders" event at GT30 in Stockholm. Miranda started Lexflix to make homework help available to everyone, something she herself lacked during her own school days. The grant gives Miranda SEK 100,000 to invest in the company.

Student teacher Miranda Matti has been passionate about making education and learning accessible since she was in school. Lexflix is her way of helping today's students get the help they need during school. It is Sweden's first two-sided digital platform for pupils and students who need or can offer homework help within their geographical area or remotely in all subjects.

- It means a lot to me to be awarded the "Future Female Founder" scholarship for my work with Lexflix. The whole vision and purpose of Lexflix is very close to my heart. I didn't have it easy at school and Lexflix is exactly the platform I wanted as a student. Therefore, it feels extra important to be able to further develop the company and offer students the help I myself had wanted, says Miranda Matti, CEO and founder of Lexflix.

In addition to her work with Lexflix, Miranda has been running the Facebook group "Homework Help for All" since 2018, with the aim of making everyday life easier for young people and adults in school. The group currently has 14,000 members. With Lexflix, Miranda wants to take her passion for making learning and education accessible one step further. The long-term goal is for Lexflix to become a leading homework help platform and to expand internationally.

- The Future Female Founder scholarship aims to increase the number of female entrepreneurs and role models in the business world, and will go to a company that is in the start-up phase. Miranda is a fantastic role model and has a clear vision with Lexflix that I think we will hear a lot about in the future, says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

The "Future Female Founder" scholarship received almost 200 applications and four entries were nominated. Paula Runsten, RE:BABA, Tugce Özdeger, Datatera AB, Miranda Matti, Lexflix AB and Mona Aghai Berg, All About Music Sweden AB.

Jury's motivation
Lexflix has a clear vision to offer a digital platform where a community of students can find homework help in a modern, accessible and inclusive way. With an already existing platform with a large customer base, the jury finds that Lexflix has high potential to drive its business forward and make a big impact on students' learning. With a passionate desire to promote young people's equal right to the same opportunity to learn, Froda is honored to announce that the Froda Future Female Founder 2023 scholarship goes to Miranda Matti, founder of Lexflix.

About the scholarship
Future Female Founder was established in 2022 by Froda and is awarded annually to a female entrepreneur. The scholarship is SEK 100,000 and aims to provide women who want, or have just started a business, with capital that enables the realization of their idea.

The assessment criteria for the grant are Drive, Creativity, Sustainability, Feasibility, Problem Solving, Impact that the company would have and Impact that the money would have for the company.

Read more about the scholarship: https://froda.se/stipendier/fr...

Since 1980, female entrepreneurship has only increased by one percentage point and only a quarter of all entrepreneurs in Sweden are women. To reverse this negative trend and encourage more women to start and run businesses, Froda is awarding the "Future Female Founder" scholarship. The SEK 100,000 scholarship, which is being awarded for the first time, received almost 200 applications and now four finalists can be presented: Paula Runsten, RE:BABA, Tugce Özdeger, Datatera AB, Miranda Matti, Lexflix AB and Mona Aghai Berg, All About Music Sweden AB.

The winner of the scholarship will be announced on March 8, International Women's Day, during Froda's Tomorrow's Founders event, which will focus on female entrepreneurship. Tomorrow's Founders is a regular event organized by Froda and aims to inspire more people to start their own business in general, and to encourage more gender equality and diversity in business in particular.

During the event, entrepreneurs Nebe Almayahi (founder of Teint) and Victoria Carlsson (founder of Denjo Dogs) will speak, and the nominees' ideas will be presented and winners announced. Ms. Almayahi and Ms. Carlsson will delve into topics such as diversity in business, the benefits of becoming self-employed, and share both tips and lessons learned for future female founders.

- The purpose of the grant is to help improve the conditions for female entrepreneurs and give more women the opportunity to invest in their ideas. That's why it's great that we have received so many applications and fantastic ideas. All the finalists are really good examples of the female entrepreneurs of the future," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda

The SEK 100,000 grant aims to provide women who want to, or have just started a business, with capital that enables the realization of their idea.

Do you want to be present during the award ceremony? Register for the event here: https://tomorrowsfounders.conf...

About the nominees

Paula Runsten - RE:BABA
Paula Runsten grew up in Danderyd, Stockholm and studies Mechanical Engineering at Lund University. In the summer of 2023, Paula will graduate and then the plan is to focus wholeheartedly on RE:BABA. Paula is passionate about sustainability and has during her studies had internships at both Tesla and Northvolt, where her idea was also brought to life. Focusing on the life and reuse of lithium-ion batteries, Runsten wants to give batteries an extended life, and has an approach that is sustainable in the long term.

Tugce Özdeger - Datatera AB
Tugce Özdeger grew up in Istanbul, Turkey, and in 2010 she moved to Uppsala to study her master's degree at Uppsala University. In 2022, Tugce started Datatera AB with the goal of closing the gap between healthcare and technology and giving HealthTech companies access to high-quality and real-world data.

Miranda Matti - Lexflix AB
Miranda Matti grew up in Spånga, Stockholm, and is studying the teacher program at Stockholm University. Since her teenage years, she has been passionate about making education and homework help accessible to everyone. Since 2018, she has run the Facebook group "Homework help for everyone" alongside her studies, which today has 14,000 members. In 2022, Miranda started the homework help platform Lexflix AB. Lexflix is Sweden's first two-sided digital platform for pupils and students who need and can offer homework help within their geographical area or remotely in all subjects, completely on their own terms.

Mona Aghai Berg - All About Music Sweden AB
Mona Aghai Berg is from Skarpnäck in Stockholm and has studied at Berghs School of Communication. At the age of 25, Mona ended up in the music industry and today has 18 years of experience in the industry. In recent years, in addition to her role as a music publisher and manager, Mona has invested in gender equality work together with the group SLÄS, which wants to improve the situation for primarily female and non-binary producers, but also songwriters in the music industry. Now Aghai Berg wants to do more and has started All About Music to spend even more time on SLÄS.

About the Future Female Founder Scholarship

Future Female Founder was established in 2022 by Froda and is awarded annually to a female entrepreneur. The scholarship is SEK 100,000 and aims to provide women who want, or have just started a business, with capital that enables the realization of their idea.

The assessment criteria for the scholarship are Drive, Creativity, Sustainability, Feasibility, Problem solving, Impact that the company would have and Impact that the money would have for the company.

Read more about the scholarship: https://froda.se/stipendier/fr...

Lack of available funding has long been one of the biggest obstacles for businesses looking to grow. That's why Visa, Froda and Lunar are partnering globally to launch an innovative new technology that aims to change this for good. The product, which for the first time uses push-payment functionality for financing, aims to reduce both processing and transaction times to seconds. Something that previously took several months.

Fintech company Froda has partnered with Visa to develop a brand new lending solution for entrepreneurs. Initially, Froda and Visa are working with the Nordic digital bank Lunar. The partnership will allow Lunar's customers to access business loans via Froda's embedded lending platform, with direct disbursements and repayments via debit cards. Visa's presence in over 200 countries provides a consistent experience for customers regardless of market, making the product globally scalable.

- I am delighted to announce our new partnership with Visa and Lunar. Our goal was to create a new ecosystem in business finance that gives entrepreneurs easy access to funding with direct payments. Thanks to the partnership with Visa, we can offer a solution to both neobanks and big banks on a global scale. This is a major milestone in fintech, but above all for all the millions of entrepreneurs globally who can now grow on the right terms," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

In challenging economic times, access to finance is more important than ever for businesses to invest for the future. The new solution aims to remove unnecessary barriers by digitizing the process and allowing disbursement and repayment directly via a payment card. With the new product, customers can pay off their loans via recurring card transactions and avoid monthly invoices.

- At Visa, we are constantly looking for new innovative ways to use the card infrastructure. The solution that Froda has developed offers something new in corporate finance and embedded lending. We are very excited to be a part of this and look forward to seeing the impact it will have on business lending," says Philip Konopik, Regional Managing Director Nordics & Baltics at Visa.

Visa's global infrastructure allows the new product to offer the same solution regardless of the market, without the need for local adaptations for billing and direct payments. Partnerships with various neobanks and card issuers enable international expansion. It also provides access to transaction data for better credit assessments, for example by offering more accurate pre-scoring of the customer's available credit.

- It's a great opportunity to be part of this collaboration, as it allows us to offer our customers a fully digital experience with the payment card application as part of the loan process. In addition, we do not need to create separate processes for direct payment application and billing information. Through direct loan disbursements, our customers can quickly and easily access the financing they need," says Mats Persson Berguis, General Manager at Lunar.

The product will be available to Lunar's customers in the second quarter of 2023. More card issuers for entrepreneurs can connect to the product.

About the product
Froda will provide the product through an API-based service in partnership with Visa corporate card issuers. Businesses will be able to apply for a loan directly through their card issuer (for example a neobank). The fully digital application process takes just a couple of minutes and is built into the card issuer's app or web portal. As part of the loan application, customers will be able to register their business card for loan disbursements and future amortization and interest payments. In the background, Froda performs an automated risk assessment of the company. As soon as the digital contract is signed, Froda will initiate a Visa Direct disbursement of the loan amount and the money is in the customer's bank account in just a few seconds. Through tokenization, the cardholder's information is securely managed and kept up to date, without the customer having to confirm their identity at each repayment or interest payment.

About Froda
Froda was founded in 2015 with a clear idea - give small and medium-sized businesses the same opportunities to grow as large ones. The company's service makes it easy and affordable for entrepreneurs to invest in their ideas. By digitizing the process, Froda has made it possible to help more companies with financing tailored to their unique business and its needs. A smarter business loan, simply put.

Today, Froda is one of Sweden's fastest growing fintech companies and has helped more than 50,000 companies grow. The company is a credit institution covered by the state deposit guarantee and is under the supervision of Finansinspektionen (FI).

About Lunar
Lunar is a Nordic digital banking challenger with operations in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The company was founded in 2015 and has a total of more than 325,000 users on its platform. In total, Lunar has raised over €300 million in equity and in 2019 the company received a European banking license.

About Visa
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the global leader in digital payments, offering transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments in over 200 countries. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, trusted and secure payment network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone, everywhere, also lift up everyone, everywhere - and we see accessibility as fundamental to the future of transactions. Find out more at Visa.com.

The global economic situation continues to affect Sweden's small businesses, according to new statistics from fintech company Froda. The last quarter shows an increased need for capital to cover unforeseen expenses. The category has increased by as much as 25.9 percent compared to the corresponding quarter in 2021.

The fourth quarter has been marked by a rise in the key interest rate and high electricity prices. But despite the uncertain global situation, Sweden's small businesses continue to invest. For the second quarter in a row, there has been a continued increase in seasonal investments, up 13.5% from the previous quarter. Demand for financing to make renovations to businesses has risen by 11.6% compared to the same period in 2021.

- Inflation and increased electricity and interest costs are having a major impact on small businesses. The macro situation creates many uncertainties, which increases the need to cover unforeseen expenses and the need for an extra buffer. But we can also see that Sweden's small business owners continue to invest in their businesses, which indicates long-term confidence in the business despite tough times," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

During the fourth quarter, it can also be seen that Sweden's small business owners are investing in inventory, the category has increased by 9 percent compared to previous quarters and 7.1 percent compared to previous years. On the other hand, it can be seen that machinery investments are taking place to a slightly lesser extent, the category has decreased by 13.6 percent compared to the previous quarter and by 10.7 percent compared to the same month last year.

- The high cost situation probably means that those who can extend the life of their machinery and thus postpone such an investment, says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda

About the statistics
Every quarter, Froda compiles statistics showing what Swedish small businesses invested in during the last quarter. The statistics come from Froda's databases and are based on information about thousands of companies.

Contingencies
+ 25.9% compared to the previous year.
+ 22.3% compared to the previous quarter.

Machinery
- 10.7 percent compared to the previous year.
- 13.6 percent compared to the previous quarter.

Purchases of goods in stock
+ 7.1% compared with the previous year.
+ 9.0% compared with the previous quarter.

General liquidity
- 6.3% compared to the previous year.
+ 2.7% compared to the previous quarter.

Seasonal investments
+ 2.4% compared with the previous year.
+ 13.5% compared with the previous quarter.

Renovation
+ 11.6% compared to the previous year
+ 1.9% compared to the previous quarter

Froda has started a collaboration with NyföretagarCentrum Sverige. The partnership aims to support aspiring entrepreneurs through coaching, knowledge transfer, networking and financing, thus helping to promote diversity and equality in entrepreneurship.
F
roda was founded in 2015 with a clear idea, to give companies opportunities to grow by making business financing available. Today, Froda is one of Sweden's fastest growing fintech companies and has helped more than 50,000 companies to grow. Froda is now entering into a partnership with NyföretagarCentrum. The partnership includes increased support for small businesses in Sweden.

- We share the vision with NyföretagarCentrum that more businesses should be started and given the opportunity to grow. We are impressed by the great results NyföretagarCentrum has in its program. Particularly worth noting is how important a role NyföretagarCentrum plays when it comes to female entrepreneurship and foreign-born people. "It is completely in line with why Froda was started and what we work for every day, so this partnership feels like a perfect match for us," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

NyföretagarCentrum works to give everyone the right conditions for starting a business and offers free advice to people who are thinking about starting their own business or have recently started. Since the organization was founded in 1985, they have helped to start more than 250,000 businesses in Sweden.

- We are very pleased that NyföretagarCentrum and Froda are now starting to work together to strengthen new businesses in the country. Froda is an innovative company that has entrepreneurship in its DNA and where founders themselves have been mentees and are now active as mentors in NyföretagarCentrum. Through the partnership, we can make it easier for more people to start a business, and offer financing on good terms. Something that is not only important for the entrepreneurs themselves - but also for Sweden's economic development," says Harry Goldman, CEO of NyföretagarCentrum Sweden.

About Froda
Froda was founded in 2015 with a clear idea - give small and medium-sized companies the same opportunities to grow as large ones. The company's service makes it easy and affordable for entrepreneurs to invest in their ideas. By digitizing the process, Froda has made it possible to help more companies with financing tailored to their unique business and its needs. A smarter business loan, quite simply.

Today, Froda is one of Sweden's fastest growing fintech companies and has helped more than 50,000 companies grow. The company is a credit institution covered by the state deposit guarantee and is under the supervision of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FI).

About NyföretagarCentrum
NyföretagarCentrum is Sweden's leading force for new entrepreneurship. It operates in more than 225 municipalities. In 2021, 15,000 people have received free, confidential and business advice, 8,000 companies have been started. After three years, 84 percent of the companies are active, added a mentor, the survival rate is 87%; less than one percent have gone bankrupt. This makes the business uniquely successful. The business is mainly financed by the business community. Behind NyföretagarCentrum is the Swedish Jobs and Society Foundation.

Two of Sweden's fastest-growing fintech companies are partnering to make growth financing easier and more accessible for merchants importing and selling physical products. Ghrough a unique and simple digital credit assessment, small and medium-sized traders will have better and faster access to cost-effective financing. The partnership will be launched in Sweden and the UK with the ambition to scale to the rest of Europe.

Both Froda and Treyd have grown rapidly in recent years by making financing solutions available to growing businesses. Unlike larger companies, small and medium-sized merchants do not have access to quick and easy capital, which is critical for growth. Now Treyd becomes the first partner to join Froda's new product Embedded financing, an API-based lending engine, which through smart credit algorithms, data and technical integration improves the predictability, scalability and flexibility of the end product.

- "We share the vision of helping small and medium-sized businesses grow. With Froda as a new financier and our solution, we are making it easier for even more merchants to get access to sell first and pay the supplier later, thus freeing up important growth capital," says Peter Beckman, CEO of Treyd.

Over the past year, both Froda and Treyd have grown aggressively, with growth rates of 100 and 700 percent respectively. The partnership means that both companies can scale up further and that both Froda's and Treyd's financing solutions will be available to many more merchants - initially in Sweden and the UK in the first quarter of 2023, with the ambition to scale to the rest of Europe.

- With Embedded financing, we can now help growth companies offer their customers flexible financing solutions. Before we had deposit authorization from FI, access to smart and flexible capital was a major growth inhibitor for us, now we can help Treyd avoid the same challenge. It's great to be part of their growth journey. We are happy to be able to launch this product together with Treyd who shares our vision to help entrepreneurs," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

About Froda
Froda was founded in 2015 with a clear idea - give small and medium-sized companies the same opportunities to grow as large ones. The company's service makes it easy and affordable for entrepreneurs to invest in their ideas. By digitizing the process, Froda has made it possible to help more companies with financing tailored to their unique business and its needs. A smarter business loan, simply put.

Today, Froda is one of Sweden's fastest growing fintech companies and has helped more than 50,000 companies grow. The company is a credit institution covered by the state deposit guarantee and is under the supervision of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FI).

About Treyd
Treyd is a fintech company that helps merchants grow by selling first and paying the supplier later. With simple and easy financing of goods purchases, companies can get discounts, free up working capital for investment in growth and use cheaper and greener logistics. Treyd has 52 employees with headquarters in Stockholm and offices in London and Cairo. treyd.io

Fintech company Froda is receiving funding from the European Investment Fund (EIF) to continue supporting innovative Swedish small businesses through the European Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) program. The program is co-financed by the European Union, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF). With the support, Froda can lend over half a billion more to Swedish small businesses.

Froda was founded in 2015 to make it easier for small businesses to access capital and is now one of Sweden's fastest growing fintech companies. By digitizing the process, over 50,000 companies have been able to get help with financing. With the support of the EaSI program, Froda is able to lend over half a billion to Swedish small businesses.

- The lack of finance for small businesses remains one of the biggest barriers to growth. The support from the EIF goes hand in hand with our vision to help small businesses with financing on good terms. Through the program, together with the EIF, we can help even more small entrepreneurs with financing, something that feels extra important right now," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

- Thanks to funding from the EU program, fintech company Froda is able to provide more than SEK 500 million - or €46 million - in loans to small businesses in Sweden and help them grow. "Loan programs like this provide a significant and much-needed boost to small businesses, leading to local job creation and greater social inclusion," said Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights.

The EIF has been selected as the fund manager for the EaSI Funded Instrument. The EIF is part of the European Investment Bank Group and its mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

- "Our mission includes supporting Europe's small and medium-sized enterprises by providing better access to finance. Through the partnership with Froda, we can ensure that more micro-enterprises have access to capital on good terms, which is in line with how we want to work towards our common goals of improving the financing situation for small businesses," said Thomas Östros, EIB Vice President.

Roger Havenith, EIF Vice President, commented:
"In difficult times, it is always the smallest players in the economy that struggle the most. This agreement with Froda, using resources from the EU's EaSI program, will allow us to channel funding to Swedish entrepreneurs and fully exploit the digital potential we have today, finance innovation, strengthen competitiveness and boost growth and jobs.

About the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI)
Under the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI), the European Union supports microfinance and social enterprise finance with a total allocation of €193 million for the period 2014-2020. The programme aims to increase access to finance for micro-enterprises, including the self-employed and vulnerable people, and social enterprises, thereby promoting job creation and social inclusion.

The EaSI-funded instrument is a €200 million fund launched in October 2019 that provides loans to financial intermediaries to support lending to micro and social enterprises. It is one of a number of EU financial instruments used under the EaSI program to support microfinance and social entrepreneurship. The EaSI-funded instrument is a partnership between the European Union, the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund.

About Froda
Froda was founded in 2015 with the idea of giving small and medium-sized companies the same opportunity to grow as large ones. By digitizing the process, Froda has made it possible to help more companies with financing tailored to their unique business and its needs. Today, Froda is one of Sweden's fastest growing fintech companies and has helped more than 50,000 companies grow. The company is a credit institution covered by the state deposit guarantee and is under the supervision of Finansinspektionen (FI).

The self-employed are the group most exposed to work-related stress, while the majority lack access to health care. Figures from Statistics Sweden show that severe sleep problems, long-term health problems and anxiety have increased significantly among entrepreneurs since 2019. Fintech company Froda and psychology platform Ahum are now launching a joint initiative to educate about sustainable entrepreneurship. Froda's customers will have access to Ahum's guides and digital tools for 12 months, as well as a free therapy session.

A survey on the health of the self-employed conducted by Ahum shows that factors such as market uncertainty, the economy, work-family conflict, and high competition have the greatest impact on well-being. In addition, almost 80% say they work via email and phone in their spare time, and a quarter find it difficult to separate work and private life.

- As important as it is that entrepreneurs in Sweden are given the opportunity to grow, it is equally important that this is done in a sustainable and long-term way. It should go without saying that all self-employed people have access to the same benefits as an employee. We see the collaboration with Ahum as an important part of the work to make it more sustainable to be self-employed," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

In Sweden, there are about 1.4 million active companies, many of which are self-employed and lack health care. Studies show that proactive mental training is effective in preventing burnout, anxiety and other mental health problems. Therefore, the collaboration between Froda and Ahum aims to make tools and knowledge available to one of the most vulnerable groups in working life.

- Many self-employed people report high life satisfaction because they can influence their work to a high degree. They also see a high workload as positive because it means the business is doing well. The difficulty with stress and burnout is that many self-employed people do not notice it until it has gone too far, precisely because of these two factors. Therefore, it is incredibly important to prevent stress and other mental health problems in time," says Ellen Risto, Chief Psychologist at Ahum.

The collaboration between Froda and Ahum means that Froda offers its customers access to Ahum's guides and digital tools for 12 months, as well as a free therapy session.

Read more at: www.froda.se/hållbar-tillväxt

About the survey
The survey includes statistics compiled by Statistics Sweden between 2018 and 2021 in the categories Health conditions, physical and mental disorders and Work environment (gainfully employed 16-74 years). The mapping also included published research articles in the field as well as a report on the short-term and long-term consequences of Covid-19 for the self-employed, which is part of a global research project at Stockholm University.

About Froda
Froda was founded in 2015 with the idea of giving small and medium-sized companies the same opportunity to grow as large ones. By digitizing the process, Froda has made it possible to help more companies with financing tailored to their unique business and its needs. Today, Froda is one of Sweden's fastest growing fintech companies and has helped more than 50,000 companies grow. The company is a credit institution covered by the state deposit guarantee and is under the supervision of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FI).

About Ahum
Ahum is passionate about everyone's right to feel good and perform well, both at home and at work. With more than 140 affiliated therapists and digital tools, they can provide the right support to everyone. To both employees and private individuals. When it's needed. If needed.

On November 11, applications for the "Female Entrepreneur of the Future" scholarship will open. The grant is aimed at female entrepreneurs who are either planning to start a business, or have started their first business in the last year.*

Only a quarter of all entrepreneurs in Sweden are women, which is below the EU average. Since 1980, the number of female entrepreneurs has increased by one percentage point. To encourage more women to start and run businesses, fintech company Froda launched a scholarship for future female entrepreneurs earlier this year. The aim is to give women who want to start or have just started a business the opportunity to turn their ideas into reality. The scholarship, which is being awarded for the first time, is worth SEK 100,000 and will be awarded annually to a female entrepreneur.

- Sweden is below the EU average when it comes to female entrepreneurship. This is despite being one of the most gender equal countries in the world. To break the negative trend, we need 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 need to have either started a business after January 1, 2022, or have a business idea that you will launch within one year. The application is open until December 31, 2022 and the award ceremony will take place on International Women's Day, March 8, 2023.

The application period for the scholarship is between November 11 and December 31, 2022.

Read more about the scholarship and apply here: https://froda.se/stipendier/framtidens-kvinnliga-foretagare/

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

• Identify as a woman
• Registered in Sweden
• Of legal age at the time of application
• Not have operated a business before, or have established their first business no earlier than January 1, 2022
  

* After January 1, 2022.

Swedish small businesses continue to invest in their operations, according to new statistics from fintech company Froda. As a result of the challenging external environment, there is also a shift in entrepreneurs investing more consciously rather than increasing overall liquidity, compared to previous years.

The company now presents new figures from the third quarter of the year, showing how small businesses are choosing to invest in their operations. The statistics show that the three categories that are increasing the most compared to the same period last year are covering unforeseen expenses (27.5%), investments in inventory (18.2%) and investments in machinery (5.5%).

- We see that many continue to invest in their businesses. Given the impending recession, the large increase in purchases of inventories and machinery is interesting. A likely explanation may be the dramatic price increases we have seen during the year, which motivates companies to make planned purchases and investments sooner rather than later," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

The figures also show that small businesses have a reduced need to cover general liquidity. The category has decreased by 11 percent compared to Q2 and as much as 23.7 percent since the same period last year.

- The fact that the need to raise external working capital has decreased may indicate that small businesses are making more conscious investments ahead of an impending recession and trying to keep their debt down. At the same time, we see a large increase in the need to cover unforeseen expenses. This is probably linked to the large general price increases in society, not least in the energy sector and the increased costs of purchases from abroad," concludes Olle Lundin.

About the statistics
Every quarter, Froda compiles statistics showing what Swedish small businesses invest in the last quarter. The statistics come from Froda's databases and are based on information about thousands of companies.

Contingencies
+ 27.5% compared to the previous year.
+ 37.4% compared to the previous quarter.

Machinery
+ 5.5% compared to the previous year.
+ 30.8% compared to the previous quarter.

Purchases of stocks
+ 18.2% compared with the previous year.
- 9.9% compared with the previous quarter.

General liquidity/working capital
- 23.7 percent compared to the previous year.
- 11.0 percent compared to the previous quarter.

Seasonal investments
- 0.5% compared with the previous year.
+ 12.7% compared with the previous quarter.

New statistics from the fintech company Froda indicate that Swedish companies' investments in their own operations fell in the second quarter of the year. When the loan performance of over a thousand small and medium-sized enterprises is analyzed, a slowdown is visible against a strong first quarter.

The spring has been marked by major movements in the economy, with rising interest rates, the highest inflation rates in over 30 years, and shortages of materials and components due to both the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

- "We can see that small business owners invested a lot in their businesses at the beginning of the year. Many have finished their renovations, seasonal investments and building up inventories for the holidays," says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

• Demand for financing for seasonal investments, such as business loans for the expansion of an outdoor restaurant, has decreased by 40% compared to the previous quarter, but is 8% higher compared to the first quarter of 2021.
• The share of those who invested in renovating their business in the last quarter has decreased by 22%, but is up 14% compared to the same period last year.
• Investments in inventories have decreased by 13% compared to the previous quarter, but are up 55% compared to the same period last year.

- The figures reinforce the picture that small business owners entered the year with great optimism but are now more cautious about their investments. So far, however, they seem to be in a good place given the international situation. "Given the uncertainty in the external environment, it is reasonable to assume that we will see an increase in the proportion of companies in need of working capital to cope with, for example, price increases and extended payment times for invoices," says Olle Lundin.

Machinery will have to wait

The only area that declined overall, quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, was investment in machinery. At the beginning of the year, there was a sharp increase in demand for financing for new machinery, but this trend has stalled and is down 33% in the second quarter. The continued high price of fuel is a possible explanation, alongside rising prices for the machines themselves due to both component shortages and inflation.

Here, small and medium-sized enterprises are reducing investment in the business:

Machinery:
-9.76% compared to the previous year.

-32.73% compared with the previous quarter.

Renovations:

+14.98% compared to the previous year.

-22.12% compared to the previous quarter.

Seasonal:

+8.24% compared to the previous year.

-39.94% compared to the previous quarter.

Product storage:

+54.72% compared to the previous year.

-12.77% compared to the previous quarter.

Froda, one of Sweden's fastest growing fintech companies, is launching the "More than a parenthesis" initiative to draw attention to the fact that the proportion of women running businesses in Sweden is still low. At the same time, the company is launching a scholarship for female entrepreneurs.

- Only a quarter of all entrepreneurs in Sweden are women, which is below the EU average and a serious underestimate considering that half of Sweden's workforce are women. "With 'Future Female Founders', 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.

The initiative "More than a parenthesis" is launched on International Women's Day and highlights the fact that Froda has not differentiated between genders in credit assessments since its inception, but that there is still a low proportion of women running businesses in Sweden and that action is needed to change this. In connection with the launch of "More than a parenthesis", the "Future Female Founder" scholarship is also established. The scholarship will be awarded annually, starting in the fall of 2022, to a female entrepreneur. The aim is to give women who want to start a business the opportunity to invest and realize their ideas.

- Increasing the proportion of female entrepreneurs will not only lead to greater gender equality in society, but will also drive social development forward. More women entrepreneurs will lead to Sweden having more successful companies. Companies that will help create more jobs, increased tax revenues and more innovation," says Olle Lundin.