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).