Press

More than half of European small businesses struggle with accessing financing. In response, the Swedish fintech company Froda expands its partnership with Visa, a world leader in digital payments, to scale embedded SMB lending across Europe. This enables other fintechs, banks, and neobanks to access Froda’s card-based embedded lending product to offer business loans to their customers.

Over 50 percent of European small businesses lack external financing, even though it´s a necessity in order to thrive and grow.* In the face of economic headwinds, access to finance becomes even more challenging. The partnership between Froda and Visa aims to help SMBs access financing in real time through automated credit decisioning and instant Visa Direct payouts.

– The extended partnership marks an important step in evolving the SMB landscape in Europe. Our joint efforts to promote the card-based embedded lending solution underline our commitment to fostering innovation for our clients and partners, so that they in turn can support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, says Philip Konopik, Regional Managing Director Nordics & Baltics at Visa.

This partnership focuses on the adoption of a card-based embedded lending solution. Card-based lending operates similarly to a traditional business loan for SMBs, but offers increased speed and convenience. It is widely accessible across markets, thanks to the extensive global network of Visa´s card infrastructure.The product creates opportunities for other fintechs and banks to scale their businesses and expand their offerings.

– This is a milestone for us and for SMBs across Europe. We are excited about what we have achieved so far and are confident that our innovative approach to SMB lending will continue to make a positive impact. The expansion plans across Europe demonstrate our dedication to reaching more SMBs and driving economic empowerment through accessible financing solutions, says Olle Lundin, CEO and co-founder of Froda.

Since the product was launched in June, card-based embedded lending is now available in Denmark via Lunar and in Germany via Kontist, a part of Ageras Group. The plan for the partnership is to embark on an ambitious expansion across Europe. The focus includes identifying new markets and partners. This expansion aligns with the companies’ commitment to providing accessible and innovative financial solutions to SMBs across Europe.

– Since the product´s launch in June, we have successfully gone live with two partners in two markets and have seen a great interest within the industry. We look forward to expanding the product to additional markets, providing more entrepreneurs with access to finance, says Stella Snickare, VP Froda Embedded.

*Eurostat, Statista, Allianz, Froda

About Froda
Founded in 2015, Froda set out to redefine business financing by making it accessible, efficient and empowering for small and medium-sized businesses. Froda is creating opportunities for all business owners, regardless of background, to turn their ideas into reality. By leveraging digital and technological innovation, Froda has transformed the loan process from months to minutes, ensuring that financing is not just fast and efficient, but also inclusive and on fair terms. Today, Froda is one of Europe’s fastest-growing fintech scaleups. With a strategic focus on embedded finance, Froda has expanded across the Nordics, the UK, Ireland and Germany, partnering with industry leaders like Visa, Checkout.com and Lunar. Froda is a licensed credit institution under the supervision of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. For more information, visit Froda

About Visa
Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.

The tech company Froda has expanded to the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, and Finland in recent years. Now, the company is taking the next step in its growth journey, expanding to its sixth market, Germany. The expansion is done in partnership with Ageras.

Froda's overarching vision is to empower entrepreneurs by providing seamless access to SME financing with fair terms. In Europe, there are 25 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and in Germany, the largest economy in Europe, SMEs employ 18.5 million people. Despite this, access to financing remains one of the major obstacles for small businesses. In 2021, Froda launched the technical platform Froda Embedded to make SME financing accessible in Europe through partnerships with banks, payment providers and fintechs.

"Being Europe's largest economy with a dense business landscape, Germany holds a key position in the realization of our vision to democratize financing for all SMEs, something we have diligently worked towards for eight years. The expansion into the German market is a milestone for Froda, and we eagerly anticipate supporting German entrepreneurs in collaboration with Ageras," says Olle Lundin, co-founder and CEO of Froda.

Froda Embedded was launched with the aim of enabling businesses and banks across Europe to offer financing directly to their customers by integrating Froda's platform into their existing products. Over the past year, lending and the number of customers via Froda Embedded have almost tripled, significantly contributing to Froda's nearly hundred percent growth and an 800 percent increase in the international lending business. The collaboration with Ageras, who offers 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 financing.

"Our solution facilitates automatic payouts via business cards, reducing processing time to seconds instead of several banking days. This can be a game-changer for entrepreneurs looking to invest in their business, but perhaps even more important in tough times like now. Launching this product with Ageras in the German market is genuinely thrilling," says Stella Snickare, VP Froda Embedded.

In November, Froda announced a partnership with Ageras as part of the company's growth and expansion journey. Now, Froda is entering Germany in collaboration with Ageras. The collaboration with Ageras means that Germany becomes the second market globally to access Froda's card-based embedded lending technology. Card-based embedded lending is a new innovation aiming to make it easier for more entrepreneurs to access financing directly through their Visa Business cards.

"Recognizing the substantial need for SME financing among German entrepreneurs, our collaboration with Froda allows us to provide a scalable product, supporting the growth of more businesses," says Martin Hegelund, co-founder of Ageras.

The product is set to launch in Germany in February 2024.

Froda continues its growth and expansion journey. After bringing in several heavyweight names in the past year, the company is now welcoming Roger Forsberg as the new CTO. Roger has over 25 years of experience from leading tech roles at Avanza, Klarna, and Pricerunner. He starts his new role December 4th, 2023.

Roger Forsberg has extensive experience from building and leading tech departments at scaleup companies. He joins Froda from a position as Engineering Director at Klarna, where he oversaw the integration of Pricerunner. He has previously served as CTO at Avanza and Pricerunner.

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

Over the past 25 years, Roger has held leading positions and worked closely with one of Froda's early investors and one of Sweden’s most prominent tech personalities – Nicklas Storåkers. At Froda, Roger will play a key role in further developing the technical platform and setting the strategy for both Froda's loan product and the strategic focus on embedded financing.

– I am very impressed with Froda, how the founders have built the company, the pace of innovation, and the results achieved so far. It's a product I could have used myself, which is important to me when choosing companies to work for. I also share the vision that access to financing for small businesses is important for both the individual entrepreneur as well as society at large, says Roger Forsberg, CTO at Froda.

Froda has made significant strides on several fronts recently. The recruitment of Roger Forsberg also means that Froda's former CTO, Astrid de Laval, will take 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 a solid core business, committed founders, and a great working environment makes Froda the perfect place for me to contribute to the next phase of technical innovation, concludes Roger Forsberg.