EIF IN
SWEDEN
Investing in the future of Swedish SMEs
Small and medium-size enterprises are the heart of the Swedish economy.
Representing 99% of all businesses and more than two thirds of the workforce, Sweden's 646,000 SMEs are responsible for driving innovation as well as spurring on growth, and their daily routine is what ensures the competitiveness of the Swedish economy. But to do that, they often need finance.
At the same time, as the smallest actors in the economy, they are often the hardest hit when the economy encounters turbulence, which is why it is so crucial for them to have financial options in order to maintain and eventually grow their businesses.
At the EIF, our mission is to improve access to finance for small businesses across the EU. In Sweden, we have been supporting SMEs using a broad range of instruments, including many tailored to the needs of the Swedish market and designed with the Swedish government and local authorities.
As a result, we've been able to support more than 31,000 Swedish businesses, ranging from companies developing bespoke solar roofs, hydrogen refuelling systems, and digitalised healthcare solutions, making sure they have the financial fuel they need to pursue their ambitions.
Our intention is to continue to extend this type of support to the Swedish market, making access to finance easier as we collectively move towards a greener, digital and more inclusive Europe.
Success stories
Sunroof
Success stories
SunRoof
“Energy infrastructure tends to be very old. We need to be able to adjust to consumers producing their own cheaper energy,” explains SunRoof CEO Lech Kaniuk. Volatile energy markets and skyrocketing electricity prices have led many European consumers to consider renewable sources of energy to meet their needs. And the European solar industry is looking to play its part in satisfying consumer demand as well as contributing to Europe’s long-term sustainability goals.
Stockholm-based SunRoof aim to replace traditional roofs with solar roofs, a bespoke option that combines roof tiles with photovoltaic cells into one seamless structure. Unlike traditional solar panels, SunRoof is integrated into the entirety of a building’s roof structure. “SunRoof is building integrated solar roofs, which have many benefits. Aesthetically, they are superior to photovoltaic panels. And since they are integrated, you can build edge-to-edge,” rather than having unused gaps at various points in a roof.
Envigas
“We need to find solutions. Otherwise, you just give up. If we do nothing, it will definitely go wrong. This is our contribution,” says Lars-Gunnar Almryd, CEO of Envigas. “When you grow old, looking back, you’ll ask yourself, did I try to contribute? That’s one of the drivers for me. I think it’s exciting to find new solutions that can contribute to the big picture as well as the small scale.”
Based in northern Sweden, Envigas is a large-scale producer of biocarbon, helping the shift towards a more environmentally friendly steel industry. Biocarbon is a product that can be used in metallurgic applications, as raw material for modern batteries or to clean water and air, or as a carbon sink and soil improvement. Apart from biocarbon, the company also produces energy-rich pyrolysis gas, and is looking to make better use of the heat released in the processing. “With the help of our products, customers will be able to significantly reduce their CO2 emissions,” he adds.
Elsa
“Our goal is to help people living with a chronic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis to live life to its fullest,” says, Sofia Svanteson, CEO and co-founder of Elsa Science, “because rheumatoid arthritis generally results in a poorer quality of life and this is something we want to improve through research, education and motivational support.” Sofia teamed up with Lars Klareskog, Professor of rheumatology, and Lars Alfredsson, Professor of epidemiology, to found Elsa Science, bringing technology and science together.
The company offers software-driven cognitive behavioural therapy interventions by means of a digital companion with which users can track their symptoms, habits and medication to better understand how these correlate. After setting up a personal plan, the application guides patients through their everyday life. “We have designed health programmes, endorsed by healthcare professionals that provide self-management techniques to better cope with the illness,” she explains.
Oazer
“In places like northern Sweden, distances are huge. When it comes to heavy duty, long-distance transportation, battery-powered transport isn’t good enough. That’s why we are developing the hydrogen-powered alternative,” explains Edith Sundqvist, deputy CEO of Oazer, a Umeå-based company providing hydrogen systems adapted to subarctic and arctic climates to customers who want zero-emission hydrogen solutions, building a network of refuelling stations across their geographical market and offering a viable green alternative to battery- and fossil-fuel-powered vehicles.
One challenge, however, has been the commitment of vehicle manufacturers and policymakers to battery-powered vehicles, but Oazer offer a comprehensive solution. “We offer not just a refuelling station but the opportunity to buy a whole refuelling system: storage, production, dispenser, and the climate adaptation part as well. It’s very important for the cold climates in the north. And it’s all really clean: the power we use is only wind and water – that’s 100% renewable, zero emissions, zero waste. The potential is huge.”
Juvinum
“It was a disaster,” says Carl-Viggo Östlund, co-owner of Juvinum, referring to the COVID-19 crisis that hit the hospitality sector in 2020. “Sales went down to almost zero for about 4-5 months, picked up a bit in the summer and then stopped again completely for 4-5 months. 2020 sales were less than half of a normal year, and 2021 was only marginally better.”
Stockholm-based Juvinum, a family-run business that Carl-Viggo and his wife Caroline acquired from her parents, is active in the wholesale of cooking wines, with clientele mainly in the Nordics and the UK. The cooking wine, from Extremadura, Spain, is produced by lowering the alcohol volume in a full-strength wine, but still keeping all the aromas, and then adding a bit of salt and pepper. Despite the dip due to COVID, the business has proven to be resilient. “We’re now back to pre-pandemic levels. But we’re aware that things could turn at any moment. This is part of doing business. But we are still here.”
Einride
“There can be no sustainability without sustainable business,” says Robert Falck, CEO of Stockholm-based Einride, a company that develops autonomous electric vehicles used mainly for freight applications. Einride is best known for its “Pod,” an automated electric truck that is controlled remotely and used in ports, airports, warehouses and wherever speedy delivery is needed. Robert used to work for a large car manufacture and saw first-hand the dependence on diesel and the huge cost of transitioning to sustainable solutions, which prompted him to found Einride in 2016.
“Europe has the largest diesel fuelled freight in the world,” he explains. “These trucks are all over our cities and motorways generating pollution and nuisance. What we are proposing is a unique approach to transport, an autonomous vehicle solution that can operate 24/7, improves efficiency, and is ultimately more sustainable. Our customers are already shipping with zero emissions, offsetting tonnes of CO2 every day and staying cost-competitive. Technology doesn’t get much cooler than this.”
Key figures
Over
of EIF financing
Transactions with financial intermediaries
Equity investments since inception
Guarantees support since inception
made available for
Swedish businesses
Mandates in focus
The EIF continues to deploy capital in Sweden under a wide range of strategic programmes and mandates. Below are brief summaries of our main initiatives in Sweden.
InvestEU
The InvestEU programme provides the EU with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It is helping to mobilise private investments for the EU's policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU Programme brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments previously available to support investment in the EU, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.
RCR
The EIB’s Risk Capital Resources (RCR) is the core pillar of the EIF’s equity activity. It has enabled us to pursue our equity strategy in the venture capital and growth segments for more than 25 years. In 2023, RCR accounted for 25% of our equity activity, committing €1.4bn to financial intermediaries.
EFSI
The European Fund for Strategic Investments formed part of the EU's Investment Plan for Europe, launched by the European Commission in 2015. EFSI addressed market gaps in financing - whether in infrastructure, research, energy efficiency or risk finance for SMEs – and mobilised private investment into these areas. Through EFSI the EIF deployed €10.5bn in resources of the European Commission, the EIB and the EIF to improve access to finance for SMEs and small midcaps.
EGF
The European Guarantee Fund was created by the EIB Group with contributions from Sweden and other Member States to protect companies struggling in the crisis caused by COVID-19. With almost €25bn in guarantees, the EGF allowed the EIB and EIF to swiftly offer companies, mostly SMEs and mid-caps, access to loans, guarantees, asset-backed securities, capital and other financial instruments. The EGF forms part of the package of recovery measures put in place by the EU, with the objective of providing a total of €540bn to support the hardest hit sectors of the European economy.
REPowerEU
The EU launched REPowerEU in 2022 to reduce dependence on fossil-fuel imports and accelerate the green transition. To support the plan, in October 2022, the EIB Group developed a package of measures focussing on renewable energy, energy efficiency, electricity networks and on deepening its engagement in green innovation and breakthrough technologies. Under REPowerEU, the EIF will invest €4.5bn by 2027 through EIF equity products.
Swedish Venture Initiative
This SEK 582 million Fund-of-Funds initiative was launched by the EIF in 2016 in close co-operation with the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth to support access to equity capital for Swedish early-stage high-growth enterprises. The Swedish Venture Initiative is among the first fund-of-funds that EIF invested into, combining resources from the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) resources and from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).
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