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When 2024 is summed up, we can state that it has been a challenging but also insightful year for Sweden's small business owners. With high interest rates, rising costs and changing customer behaviour, adaptation has been required to keep up with developments. At the same time, there have been glimmers of light in the form of new opportunities thanks to digitalisation and an increased awareness of the importance of local presence. Here's a look back at the most significant trends in 2024 and some thoughts on what might be good to carry into 2025.

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Trends that shaped 2024

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Continued economic challenges
High interest rates and the general economic situation put pressure on entrepreneurs from several directions and made 2024 a tough year for many. Especially in sectors such as construction and trade, many entrepreneurs struggled with falling demand. At the same time, it is possible to look forward with more optimism than in years. Inflation has stabilised and interest rates have started to fall. This will benefit businesses both in terms of reduced financing costs, but also increased demand as the economy begins to recover.

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New technologies provide new opportunities
AI went from being a trend to actually becoming a tool that makes it easier for entrepreneurs. Today, there are a range of AI tools that can help entrepreneurs automate tasks, streamline processes and even create materials. For entrepreneurs, not only does this mean new opportunities, but AI can help free up both time and energy in a busy everyday life.

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Sustainability continues to be important
In 2024, customers continued to prioritize companies that take responsibility for sustainability — both socially and environmentally. For small business owners, this meant that a clear sustainability strategy was not only a way to do good, but also a business necessity. Working with sustainability is also a way to secure the company for the future, as it is likely that higher demands will be placed on smaller companies in the future related to sustainability work.

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Events around the world benefited the local
An outside world of trade threats, unrest and increased customer awareness led to the return of the local becoming a trend in the past year. Customers came to appreciate personal meetings and businesses with local roots. Something that made social media, storytelling and presence in the local community important tools for building trust and loyalty.

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Things to think about in 2025
Even if 2025 looks to be a much better year for Sweden's entrepreneurs, lessons can be learned from the past year, in order to build for the future.

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Build buffers and be flexible: With times now hopefully getting better, it's good to start building up the company's buffer. That way, you can be better equipped in case there are tougher times again.

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Bend using new technology if you don't already: As I said, AI and other digital solutions can help you streamline your business, and if you haven't tested the tools available today, it's time to do so. It can give your business new opportunities and free up time for you that you can spend on developing the business.

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Be proactive: With customers now starting to come back, it's good to be ahead of time with your planning to be able to gain market share during the year. Therefore, do your research
and start processing the customers instead of waiting and hoping they come to you.
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Think about cyber security: The threat from hacker attacks and fraud is growing, with businesses and individuals alike increasingly affected. Is corporate cyber security not fully in place? 2025 is the year to act! Take control and learn more at sakerhetskollen.se.

2024 has shown that small business owners are resourceful and conflicted when times get tougher. By being close to customers, exploiting technological opportunities and investing in sustainability, you can create the conditions for success in 2025.

Embedded finance is rapidly changing the funding landscape for SMEs, but we have only scratched the surface of its potential. Many B2B vendors have already begun to realize the benefits of offering financing. Developments in embedded finance are progressing rapidly and a number of innovations are expected to be introduced in the coming years. Here are some areas to keep an eye on:

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Increasing use of AI

Artificial intelligence has been on everyone's lips in recent years and the emergence of this field is likely to have a big impact on embedded finance as well. With AI's ability to analyze large amounts of data to identify fraud patterns and predict risks, customer awareness (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) processes can be automated to a greater extent and become both faster and more precise. This will not only lead to reduced costs and better compliance, but also better customer experiences.

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New technological solutions

As more and more partnerships are established in embedded finance, companies will find solutions to leverage each other's infrastructure and launch innovative products. Card-based lending and the fact that loan transactions are made automatically through the customer's debit card is an example of such innovation. But we are likely to see even more innovations in areas such as collateral, instalments and transactions in the coming years.

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EU legislation

As part of its efforts to establish a Capital Markets Union, the European Commission has presented a proposal for an SME referral scheme. The proposal means that banks and other lenders would have to refer SMEs to alternative sources of funding, if they denied their application for funding. The idea is that it should encourage operators not to casually reject applications from SMEs in favour of more profitable lending. However, by integrating embedded finance solutions developed for SMEs, banks and other lenders can stay ahead of any legislation. This way, they can avoid having to refer customers to competitors and at the same time improve the experience and service.

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Financing integrated into customer flow

B2B providers of both services and products will increasingly make financing an integral part of the customer flow. By integrating the services into their own feeds, B2B vendors can create more seamless experiences where they have greater control over the customer's buying journey. When customers can resolve financing without having to leave platform they already use, friction decreases and customer satisfaction increases. In addition, suppliers may collect data on customer behavior that can be used to tailor products and services.

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Cooperation between fintech and banks

The role of banks in the B2B segment is changing as fintech companies in different niches have established themselves. Today, more and more banks offer their services to or through fintech companies and virtually all traditional banks have begun to establish banking-as-a-service offerings. In the coming years, partnerships between banks and fintechs will become increasingly common. By working together, fintech companies can benefit from banks' infrastructure and regulatory compliance, while banks can offer their customers new and innovative services.

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Developments in embedded finance will reshape the B2B finance market in several ways. The coming years will see a series of new innovations and collaborations be launched that will lead to more relevant and contextual financial solutions, new revenue streams and a more integrated and seamless customer experience. Companies that can successfully adapt and navigate the embedded finance landscape will stand strong in the future.

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Most entrepreneurs want to grow their businesses, and while it can be challenging, it's also very rewarding. Growing the company can be done in several ways but always requires strategic planning, careful execution and a willingness to adapt to changing market conditions. Here are some tips that can help you on how to proceed and where to start if you want to grow your business.

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Set vision and goals
A clear vision and concrete goals are the foundation of any successful business. Vision tells you what your long-term goal is and acts as a compass that you can use in your decisions and actions to ensure they align with where you want to go. Once you have a clear vision, the next step is to break it down into concrete and measurable goals. The goals act as sub-goals and give you clarity on how to achieve the vision. One tip is to do it by using the SMART method (specific, measurable, accepted, realistic, timed) to set realistic and motivating goals that give you clear guidelines and motivation.

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Develop a strategy
A strategy is your plan to achieve the goals you set. Start by doing a market analysis to understand the market conditions, competitors and the latest trends. Identify what resources you need in terms of personnel, capital and technology. Then create an action plan with timelines and responsibilities for each goal. Keep in mind that the strategy must be flexible in order to be able to adapt if circumstances change. By having a clear and structured strategy, you can ensure that the company is working towards its goals.

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Understand the target audience
Understanding your target audience is one of the most important aspects of running a successful business. By knowing who your customers are and what they need, you can create products and services that truly meet their needs. Use market research, focus groups, and data analytics to gain insights about your customers. Divide your audience into segments based on demographics, behavior, and preferences. It allows you to tailor your offering and marketing to better appeal to each segment.

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Improve customer experience
A positive customer experience leads to loyalty and increases the likelihood that your customers will recommend your company. Improving the customer experience can be done in many ways, you can invest in training your team in customer service and making sure they have the tools and resources they need. You can also invest in new systems that make the shopping experience smoother or increase personalization. Also collect feedback from your customers, partly to find out how they think and feel, and partly to show that you value their opinions.

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Expand the reach of the company
To grow, you need to reach out to more potential customers and one way to do that is to expand the business. Depending on what your business does and how dependent it is on physical meetings or locations, an expansion can be different complexes to implement. However, it usually takes some type of major investment to make an expansion, especially if you are going to establish yourself in a new locality or market. You can also expand by partnering with other companies to leverage their customer base and resources. Partnerships can open doors to new markets and opportunities, and can be an effective way to quickly increase your reach.

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Invest in marketing
One of the most effective and proven ways you can reach new customers is through marketing. Effective marketing creates awareness, drives sales and increases customer preference. Different types of marketing serve different purposes however, but the basic rule is to have a balance between activities that are supposed to strengthen your brand long-term and ones that drive conversion in the here and now. Start by looking at what you are doing today and what you could do to reach out better. You can enlist the help of a brand consultant or marketing agency to help you review your needs and prerequisites.

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Developing new products or services
Innovation is often the key to differentiating oneself in a market. By analyzing market needs and developing new products or services that address those needs, your business can stand out from the crowd. If you are also constantly improving your existing products or services based on customer feedback and technological advances.

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There are many ways to grow businesses and there are really no right and wrong. Without what works for your conditions, what is right for your business. By focusing on these areas, you can create a solid foundation for growth and success. Remember to continuously evaluate and adjust your strategies to meet changing market conditions and customer needs. With the right vision, strategy and tools, your small business can reach new heights.

Embedded finance is revolutionizing the world of finance, affecting everything from how companies pay to how they access finance. But what exactly is it and how can it benefit both suppliers and end customers in business finance?

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What is embedded finance?
Embedded finance involves the integration of financial services into non-financial platforms, applications and services. It enables non-financial companies to offer financing solutions to their clients, within the scope of their own operations. In this way, customer needs can be met directly when it arises, rather than having to turn to a separate actor to solve it. Something that provides a more seamless experience where financing becomes a natural part of the business process.
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Applications of embedded finance
Integrating financial services is not really a new phenomenon — chain stores and gas companies have been offering their own debit and credit cards for a long time. However, as the development of fintech has gained momentum in the last decade, embedded finance has become even more relevant, as the potential uses have become even more numerous.
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Embedded banking
Embedded banking, or banking-as-a-service is used synonymously with embedded finance as embedded finance services usually fall under banking as an umbrella term. For example, it could be an accounting service that integrates accounts and cards to offer a complete solution where banking and accounting are automated in one place.
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Embedded lending
Similar to embedded banking, embedded lending is an opportunity for companies to integrate services traditionally provided by banks into their offering. However, when embedded banking means offering broader banking services, embedded lending is about integrating financing solutions. It may be that payment service providers use embedded lending to offer their customers integrated lending solutions. Or a neobank that doesn't have the infrastructure to handle lending itself, but integrates it to have it in its offering. Access to finance has long been an issue for businesses, especially SMEs. Embedded lending addresses this and provides the opportunity for more tailored financing solutions via providers with whom the companies already have a business relationship.
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Embedded funding
Unlike embedded banking and embedded lending, embedded funding is not the ready-made solutions that are integrated and offered by non-financial corporations, but the financial infrastructure and capital that is used to build financing solutions. The field of application of embedded funding is companies that offer niche financing solutions or buy-now-pay-later. Traditionally, such companies have had to borrow money themselves and then borrow the money further. Something that entails relatively high financing costs and is associated with a certain amount of risk. With the help of embedded funding, they can instead integrate the capital part of the business itself.
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Benefits of embedded finance
The benefits of embedded finance are many. For suppliers, it provides opportunities for streamlining and comparative advantages where different companies can leverage each other's expertise to deliver a better experience and product. For SMEs, this means that financing is both more accessible and tailored to their needs.

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Benefits for suppliers
Embedded finance opens many doors for business service providers. It provides the opportunity to integrate products and services they themselves do not have the skills, infrastructure or advice to build. By doing so, they can create a more complete and attractive offer out to the customer, which can lead to increased loyalty and longer customer relationships. When customers have all their financial needs met by a single provider, the experience becomes more seamless and the risk of customers turning to competitors is reduced. All in all, embedded finance empowers companies to find new revenue streams, while improving customer experience and increasing loyalty.
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Benefits for SMEs
Financing has long been a major problem for SMEs. Embedded finance has the potential to provide significant improvements in access to finance while also resulting in financing products that are more tailored to business needs. It will make life as an entrepreneur more convenient when financing becomes more available in general, and available from actors who do not have financing as their main business in particular.

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Embedded finance can result in significant changes in how financial services are delivered and consumed. By integrating financial services into their offering, companies can not only improve their own business, but also offer their business customers an enhanced experience. For companies in banking, finance, payments, ERP and other business services, embedded finance therefore offers a huge opportunity.

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Want to learn more about how embedded finance can revolutionize your business? Contact us and we'll tell you more.

All businesses depend on capital, whether it's to grow or just keep the business alive. For many companies, external capital in the form of a business loan can be something that allows the company not only to live on, but to grow and develop. However, despite the fact that almost all large companies use external financing, many small business owners shy away from borrowing money.
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Apart from home loans, loans for individuals have largely become synonymous with various types of consumer loans. These types of loans are used to pay for property that the person cannot really afford, and that has diminishing value. Borrowing as a business is different, however. When taking a business loan, it is used to strengthen liquidity or to carry out investments in the company. These will lead to the fact that the return in the company is likely to increase, which is why it should be seen as an investment.
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In fact, it can cost you money not to use external financing in the company. If an investment is delayed for some time because you choose to save for it instead of financing it with external funds, you not only risk that the investment will become obsolete once you can afford it, you will also miss out on the return it would have yielded while you saved for it. By financing purchases, you can also put your business in a position where you have already traded the asset you funded when you are due to pay for it and can thus allow the money to be used in the meantime.

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To make it easier to know when a business loan might be right for your business, here are some concrete tips reasons for when and why companies take loans.
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Expansion and growth
The most obvious time when companies are in need of business loans is during expansion and growth. In order to expand, larger investments are usually required. This can involve hiring, developing a new product or moving to new premises. Expansion usually also requires resources to invest in, for example, marketing and create an infrastructure that can support the expanded business. The majority of all companies rarely have the cash to carry this out without external capital. However, by financing it with corporate loans, it becomes possible for companies to make the investments they need to make to develop and grow the company without having to compromise on day-to-day operations.

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Cash flow management
Most businesses run into cash flow problems at some point, especially smaller businesses where the flow of ins and outs is not as constant as it is for larger companies. Customers can pay late, and at the same time wages and bills need to be paid on time. Many small businesses even have distinct seasons in business, where revenue differs markedly between high and low season. Business loans can help balance up these swings and smooth the flow in the economy.

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Investment in equipment and technology
Technology is constantly evolving and sometimes companies need to invest in new equipment or software to stay competitive. Whether it's a new machine to the factory or updated software, these investments can be expensive. Business loans enable companies to make these necessary investments, which in turn leads to improved productivity, efficiency and profitability.

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Stock purchases
For companies that sell physical products, it is important to have a well-stocked warehouse. Sometimes it can be profitable to buy in large quantities of goods to get a discount or to prepare for a high season. A loan can make it possible to make these strategic purchases without draining the cash register. It also provides the opportunity to spread the costs of stock purchases over a longer period and allows the goods to be sold before the company has to pay for them.

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Manage unexpected expenses
Life as an entrepreneur is full of surprises and sometimes it means that you may suffer unexpected expenses that are beyond your control. Equipment may break, a customer may go bankrupt, and orders may be delayed. In such situations, a business loan can provide flexibility and security as well as help to cope with events without affecting day-to-day operations.

Business loans serve several purposes for businesses and can be used in several different ways. It is more than just a tool for managing immediate financial needs. It is a strategic investment in the future of the company and a resource to drive growth, manage cash flows and ensure long-term stability. No matter what industry you operate in or how big your business is, you can create competitive advantages by understanding and exploiting the opportunities of business loans.

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When starting a business, choosing a business structure is one of the first choices you face. There is really no right or wrong when it comes to choosing a business structure, but which structure you choose will affect things like start-up capital, taxes and legal liability. To make it easier for you to know which business structure would suit your business, we have compiled information about each business structure, what distinguishes them and which one fits in which situations.

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Sole trader
A sole trader is a type of business in which a person owns and operates the business in his or her own name. It is easy to start and requires no start-up capital to get started. One of the biggest advantages of a sole proprietorship is that it is simple and has less administrative requirements. Since it does not require you as an owner to enter with any capital, an individual firm also has minimal start-up costs. As the owner of an individual firm, you have full control over the company and all decisions, but you are also personally responsible for all debts and contracts. In an individual firm, there is also no difference between the company and the owner's finances. An individual company may only have one owner. It is basically a business structure where you, as the owner, is given permission to conduct business in your name and is suitable for sole proprietors, consultants and small-scale businesses that do not require large investments or employees. If you want to test a business idea without making big financial commitments from the start, an individual company can also be an easy way to get started, and then turn it into a limited company at a later date.

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Limited  company
Limited companies are the most common business structure in Sweden and to start a limited company requires a starting capital of at least SEK 25,000. Unlike an sole trader, a limited company is its own legal entity, which is one of the main advantages. The fact that a limited company is its own legal entity means that the company is responsible for its own contracts and debts. The owners instead have limited liability. Their private finances are protected from the company's liabilities and only risk the capital that they have invested in the company. A limited company can also have several owners, which makes it possible to spread risks and share responsibilities, and that it can be transferred or sold. However, since there are more extensive requirements for a limited company when it comes to administration and accounting, it may be better suited for companies that require larger investments, have multiple owners or employees.

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Trading partnerships
A trading partnership is a business structure in which two or more people run the business together. A trading partnership is its own legal entity, but the shareholders are jointly and severally liable for the company's debts and contracts. This means that each shareholder can be held liable for the entire debt. One advantage of trading partnerships is that there is no start-up capital required to get going, making it easy to start. In addition, the owners can spread the responsibility and benefit from each other's competencies and that limited companies can be partners in a trading company. The downside is the personal liability, which can pose a financial risk to the co-owners. Trading partnerships are therefore best suited for smaller businesses where the owners know each other well and are willing to share both responsibility and profits.

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Limited partnership
Limited partnerships are similar to trading partnerships but have one important difference. There are two types of owners: general and limited partners. General partners have unlimited liability for the liabilities and contracts of the business, while limited partners only risk their invested capital. This allows limited partnerships to attract investors who do not want to risk more than their invested capital. Like trading partnerships, limited partnerships require no start-up capital and can therefore be started quickly. The downside is that the general partner has unlimited liability, which always involves some risk. Limited partnerships are therefore suitable for companies that want to benefit from both active co-ownership and passive investors.

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Economic association
An economic association is a type of business in which members cooperate and conduct activities to further their economic interests. The association is its own legal entity and its members have limited liability, but three or more legal entities are required to form an economic association. One of the advantages of an economic association is that it can have unlimited number of members and is democratic, with one vote per member. However, the association requires a more extensive administration and accounting. An economic association is suitable for activities where members want to work together for common economic goals, such as housing associations, cooperatives or member-owned businesses.

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Nonprofit association
A non-profit association is an association that is run for no profit and instead to promote the non-profit interests of its members. For example, culture, sports or social work. The association is its own legal entity and the members have no personal responsibility for the association's debts or agreements. One of the main advantages of a non-profit association is that it can conduct business without paying taxes on its earnings, as long as they are used to further the purpose of the association. The disadvantage is that a non-profit association cannot conduct for-profit activities in the same way as other business structures. Non-profit associations are suitable for groups of people who want to work together to promote common interests without having a financial profit purpose.

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Choosing the right business structure
The type of business structure that suits you depends on several factors and is influenced by the scale of the business, the number of owners, the capital needs and the propensity to risk. Many people think that limited companies are the obvious choice because of the limited liability, but for some businesses, the cost of starting one outweighs the benefits of it. It is important to carefully review your needs and goals before deciding which business structure is right for you.

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By understanding the differences between different business structures, you can make an informed choice and lay the foundation for a successful and sustainable business.

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