Press

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...

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 "Female Entrepreneur of the Future" 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 entrepreneurs.

- 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 Entrepreneur 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 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...