Press

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.

The Nordic tech companies Froda and Ageras have entered into a strategic partnership. Froda is one of Sweden's fastest-growing fintechs and has helped more than 50,000 businesses get access to financing. Ageras is a leading provider of software for banking, accounting, and administration with +300,000 SME customers across Europe, who now will get access to financing through Froda Embedded. The partnership is a part of Froda's international expansion and growth journey.

– Our vision from the outset has been to help as many small business owners as possible access financing. Through our partnership with Ageras, we can support even more small businesses in Europe with financing, says Olle Lundin, CEO and co-founder of Froda.

In Europe, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up 99 percent of all businesses, employ 100 million people, and contribute to over half of Europe's GDP. Despite this, access to financing is one of the biggest obstacles for small business owners in Europe that want to grow their business. Solutions that make financing accessible to small business owners are therefore crucial for Europe's growth.

– Together with Froda, we can scale up our business financing offering and provide our customers with an even broader range of financial services, says Martin Hegelund, co-founder of Ageras and continues:

– Our surveys show that 68 percent of small businesses are looking for financing, but most are unable to obtain it via traditional banks. With Froda, we enabled access to ‘smart’ funding by letting our customers use their own financial, banking and accounting data to get a credit approval in seconds.

Ageras is a leading provider of software for banking, accounting, and administration for small businesses in Europe. The company has more than 300,000 active customers using its products such as Billy, Zervant and Kontist. The partnership with Froda enables Ageras to expand its business financing offering.

– Our Embedded platform makes it easy for other fintech companies to expand internationally and scale their operations. The partnership with Ageras marks an exciting new phase for us, says Stella Snickare, VP of Froda Embedded.

Froda Embedded was launched in 2021 and has been a success story since its inception, contributing significantly to Froda's growth. Over the past year, the business area has grown by 100 percent, increased the number of partners from three to nine, and expanded from three to five markets. Through the partnership with Ageras, the reach is further expanded, and Froda will be able to reach and assist more European small businesses with financing.

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 Ageras
Ageras is a banking and accounting platform for small business owners. Its one-stop platform integrates its solutions into a single financial hub for invoicing, accounting, payroll, and banking, enabling small business owners and entrepreneurs to focus on running their businesses. The 250-person company was founded in Denmark in 2012 and now services +300,000 small businesses across Europe.