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• Froda receives EIF guarantee enabling SEK 560 million in new loans to micro-entrepreneurs in Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
• The transaction is supported by the European Union's InvestEU program.
• Through the program, Froda can offer beneficial microloans to around 3,500 small businesses.

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.

Background information
European Investment Fund (EIF): the EIB is the European Union's long-term financing institution, owned by the EU Member States. The Bank provides long-term finance 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.