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 "Female Entrepreneur of the Future" 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 "Female Entrepreneur of the Future" 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 Female Entrepreneur of the Future 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 "Female Entrepreneur of the Future" 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 Female Entrepreneur of the Future 2023 scholarship goes to Miranda Matti, founder of Lexflix.

About the scholarship
The Female Entrepreneur of the Future 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...