In 2024, not counting non-employer enterprises, SMEs accounted for 99.5% of all enterprises and 47.3% of all full-time employees in Denmark.
New lending to SMEs from financial institutions decreased from DKK 46 billion to 42 billion between 2023 and 2024, representing an 8% decrease. The 2024 level was slightly lower than the average in the period 2014-2023. The share of new SME lending compared to total new lending was 6.38% in 2024, which is below the average of 10.11% in the period 2014-2023.
Interest rates for SMEs as well as for large firms were steadily declining between 2008 and 2018. Starting in 2019, the interest rates for SMEs started increasing with only a small decrease in 2022, followed by a fast increase to 8.97% in 2023, rapidly decreasing again in 2024 to 4.91%. This also resulted in a widening interest rate spread during overall increasing rates. In 2024 however, the notable decline in interest rates overall also led to reduced interest spread at 0.34 percentage-points difference between SMEs and large firms’ rates.
Venture and growth capital financing from Danish private equity firms decreased slightly in 2023 and 2024 but remains at an overall high level of EUR 1 117 million in 2024. The overall decrease stems largely from a slowdown in growth capital which dropped 25% by volume. The 2024 level of venture and growth capital remains higher than any year between 2011 and 2021.
The average payment delays have increased from 11 days in 2022 to 16 days in 2023. The number of bankruptcies among SMEs decreased from 2 448 in 2023 to 1 999 in 2024.
Government loan guarantees decreased slightly from DKK 1 349 million in 2023 to 1 329 million in 2024. Government guaranteed loans increased slightly from DKK 1 044 in 2023 million to 1 112 million in 2024.
On 1 January 2023 the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) was established through a merger of three previous state funds: The Growth Fund, Denmark’s Green Investment Fund and EKF Denmark’s Export Credit Agency. EIFO provides a single point of access for Danish companies requiring government financing and aims to improve growth in a green way.