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Business development vouchers are aimed at small businesses with 2–49 employees and sales of at least SEK 3 million that want to enter a new international market or further widen their international market.

Companies can apply for a voucher for SEK 50 000–200 000. The voucher covers half of the cost, and the rest is paid by the company itself.

The voucher can be used for

• purchase of a service
• travel expenses (maximum of 20 per cent of total costs)
• project employment (which starts after the decision, i.e. it has to bring new skills to the company).

Applications are made at regional level.

Business development vouchers at the the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (in Swedish)

You can apply for a regional grant if you have a privately owned small or medium-sized enterprise that you want to start or develop, if you have difficulty finding or obtaining financing in the private market.

Regional grants for business development are given to everything from major investments in, for example, machinery and buildings to small sums for consultancy services, product development or participation in exhibitions.

The grants are based on percentages of the approved costs. They are maximised to 10 to 35 percent. The purpose of regional support to companies is to strengthen and develop the company’s competitiveness and to thereby strengthen and develop local business and industry.

Whether your company can get support depends on where your company is located in Sweden and what your company does.

Types of regional business support at the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth

Sida (the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) offers financial support and advice to small and medium-sized enterprises that want to develop innovative solutions that help poor people to improve their living conditions.

Sida only collaborates with small and medium-sized enterprises that are based on sustainable enterprise with poor people as customers, employees, producers, distributers or entrepreneurs in different parts of the value chain.

The enterprises have to ‘compete’ for funding from what are called ‘challenge funds’ to which they can send their project proposals with innovative solutions. The enterprises must meet at last 50 per cent of the costs. Cofinancing by the funds varies. For example, the Global Innovation Fund provides up to USD 15 million to support innovations.

Sida can make it easier for enterprises to get loans for their projects by sharing the risk with the lender. Sida does so by providing various forms of guarantees, for example payment guarantees and guarantees for market risks such as fluctuations in price and demand.

Sida’s business sector activities (in Swedish)

Regional transport aid is a local political grant that aims to stimulate refinement within the industrial life in North Sweden and to compensate for the cost disadvantages due to long transport distances.

Transport aid may be granted companies for transporting goods to and from the four northernmost provinces.

Regional transport aid at the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth

Support for the production of audiovisual works is intended for companies that want to produce a film or television series in Sweden.

The support can be used for feature films, documentary films, drama series or documentary series, regardless of the technology used to bring them to the screen. The purpose of the support is to increase the number of audiovisual works produced in Sweden. This support, which is permanent from 2022 onwards, totals 100 million Swedish kronor per year.

Support for the production of audiovisual works at the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth

Almi offers various forms of export finance to make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to undertake ventures abroad.

Almi‘s export loans are aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises that want to invest in exports in all industries.

The export loan works like Almi‘s business loan. The difference is that the company can also take loans in foreign currency. Normally an export loan has to be paid back within three to five years.

Almi's loans are aimed at companies with up to 250 employees in all industries. To offset the higher risk Almi charges an interest rate that is above the average bank interest rate. For Almi the viability of the business concept and the expertise of the management carry most weight in the financial appraisal of the company.

Read more about export loans at Almi (in Swedish)

Nopef offers loans with favourable terms for small and medium-sized enterprises in the Nordic region. The purpose is to finance feasibility studies so as to strengthen the international competitiveness of these enterprises.

Does your company want to evaluate a long-term investment and the establishment of business operations that contribute to positive environmental impacts in a country outside the EU/EFTA area? Then Nopef can grant interest-free conditional loans of up to 40 per cent of the cost of a feasibility study.

If you choose to establish business operations in the country or countries after the feasibility study, the whole of the loan can be converted into support. If you do not establish business operations, Nopef can only forgive 50 per cent of the conditional loan you were granted. The maximum sum that can be borrowed is EUR 50 000.

Loans at Nopef

NEFCO offers Nordic companies loan finance, export support and venture capital for small and medium-sized environmental projects, mainly in Eastern Europe.

NEFCO offers various types of loans to Nordic exporters of products and services and credits to buyers of Nordic products and services. NEFCO can also provide venture capital. Projects that have positive effects on the environment can also receive export support on favourable terms.

NEFCO finances small and medium-sized environmental projects that have demonstration value. Many of the projects are innovative, and the projects are often intended to test Nordic solutions that are scalable.

Financial solutions at NEFCO

SEK offers financial solutions to Swedish exporters and their customers. SEK is primarily aimed at companies with sales of at least SEK 500 million that are working with exports in some way.

SEK can offer Swedish export companies and their subsidiaries loans in a number of different currencies and maturities.

SEK also lends money to buyers of Swedish export products (international buyers) in the form of export credits, the financing of trade receivables, project financing and various kinds of contract guarantees.

Loans at the Swedish Export Credit Corporations

Swedfund offers financing, expertise and establishment support for investments in emerging markets in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Swedfund shares risk and offers partnership and partial financing mainly through equity and loans. In cooperation with our partners we have to contribute to investments that are sustainable in economic, environmental, climate and social terms.

Small and medium-sized enterprises can apply for support to establish cooperation with companies in the countries concerned through the Swedpartnership financial programme.

In addition, Swedfund provides partial financing of consultancy work that increases the product development and ordering skills of project owners in the countries covered.

Investment support at Swedfund

The Swedish Export Credit Agency (EKN) insures companies and banks against the risk of not being paid in export deals. This makes its easier for large and small export companies to get loans. EKN also helps sub-suppliers of export companies.

EKN guarantees provide protection against the risk of not being paid, which means that you are able to give your buyer better credit terms.

EKN can also share risks with your bank, which makes it easier for you to finance your operations and get contract guarantees, such as guarantees for advances in export deals.

To apply for their guarantees you can go directly online or download the forms at www.ekn.se.

Guarantees at the Swedish Export Credit Agency (EKN)