Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2026: Sweden

Table of contents

• Key facts on SME financing
• Macroeconomic and financing conditions
• SMEs in the National Economy
• SME lending
• Credit conditions
• Alternative sources of SME financing
• Other indicators
• Government policy response

Key facts on SME financing

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) dominate the Swedish business landscape, making up about 99% of all firms. This underscores their central importance to the national economy. By contrast, a mere 1% of companies are large enterprises (250+ employees), yet these contribute roughly half of total value added and around 45% of private-sector employment. In other words, while SMEs are overwhelming in number, the largest firms account for a disproportionate share of economic output, highlighting how firm size influences overall economic activity.

SME lending trends have fluctuated considerably in recent years in Sweden. In 2022, outstanding SME loans declined by approximately 13% to roughly SEK 1.353 trillion, while total business lending rose by over 20% to about SEK 5.134 trillion, reflecting divergent credit trends between smaller and larger firms. This marked a reversal from 2021, when SME debt increased by 5% and total business lending grew by around 7%. In 2023, SME lending rebounded by around 7% to SEK 1.445 trillion, while overall business lending increased modestly by approximately 1% to SEK 5.092 trillion. This volatility in credit volumes mirrors the broader economic swings: the extraordinary conditions of 2022 (with soaring inflation and tight money) were followed by a modest recovery in 2023 as financial conditions stabilized.

Monetary policy, particularly adjustments to the policy rate by the Swedish Central Bank (Sveriges Riksbank), has played a critical role in influencing borrowing costs and managing inflation between 2018 and 2023. From April 2022 to September 2023, the policy rate was raised from 0.00% to 4.00% marking its highest level in recent years. With inflationary pressures easing, the Swedish Central Bank reversed its course, reducing the policy rate to 2.50% in December 2024 and further to 2.25% in January 2025, indicating a pivot toward supporting economic growth.

SME bankruptcies decreased modestly in 2020 and fell sharply, by 53% in 2021. Following a slight increase in 2022, SME bankruptcies rose again by approximately 37% in 2023 (to 2 551 cases) and by a further 11% in 2024 (to 2 840 cases). These trends suggest that the government’s pandemic-related support measures had only temporary stabilizing effects, with financial pressures resurfacing in the subsequent years.

Table 1. Scoreboard for Sweden

Indicator	Unit	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Debt
Outstanding business loans, SMEs	SEK billion						930	964	1 003	1 073	1 173	1 290	1 413	1 514	1 492	1 563	1 353	1 445
Outstanding business loans, total	SEK billion						2 683	2 722	2 812	2 901	2 962	3 189	3 831	3 754	3 868	4 159	51 34	5 092
Share of SME outstanding loans	% of total outstanding business loans						34.66	35.39	35.67	36.99	39.60	40.46	36.89	40.33	38.57	37.59	28.35	28.38
Outstanding short-term loans, SMEs	SEK billion						211	217	249	262	316	339	355	397	384	439	404	456
Outstanding long-term loans, SMEs	SEK billion						719	747	754	811	857	951	1 058	1 177	1 108	1 125	949	989
Share of short-term SME lending	% of total SME lending						22.71	22.50	24.83	24.44	26.92	26.28	25.12	26.22	25.73	28.06	29.85	31.54
Direct government loans, SMEs	SEK million	1 422	1 716	3 231	2 112	2 023	2 161	2 200	2 354	3 241	3 324	2 559	1 857	2 292	3 930	2 513	2 851	2 455	2 001
Non-performing loans, total	% of all business loans	0.08	0.46	0.83	0.78	0.65	0.70	0.61	1.24	1.17	1.04	1.12	0.49	0.58	0.51	0.42	0.30
Interest rate, SMEs	%	4.86	5.66	2.43	2.59	4.17	4.07	3.29	2.71	1.75	1.56	1.50	1.53	1.87	2.08	2.02	2.89	5.39	5.42
Interest rate, large firms	%	3.99	4.84	1.71	1.64	3.01	3.03	2.64	2.15	1.35	1.21	1.14	1.05	1.03	1.29	1.32	2.31	5.10	4.92
Interest rate spread	Percentage points	0.87	0.82	0.72	0.95	1.16	1.04	0.65	0.56	0.40	0.34	0.37	0.48	0.84	0.79	0.70	0.58	0.29	0.51
Non-bank finance
Venture and growth capital	EUR million	559.7	492	363.1	698.5	413.4	340.2	355.3	374.8	289.1	266.8	477.3	539.3	588.2	1 824.5	2 125.6	2 176.8	1 869.3	1 421.8
Venture and growth capital (growth rate)	%, Year-on-year growth rate		-12.09	-226.2	92.41	-40.83	-17.7	4.41	5.49	-22.85	-7.7	78.89	12.99	9.07	211.87	15.87	2.41	-14.13	-23.94
Other indicators
Payment delays, B2B	Number of days						20.00	24.00	15.00	9.00	9.00	10.00	14	15
Bankruptcies, SMEs	Number	2 469	3 139	3 913	3 342	3 449	3 808	3 777	3 355	2 998	2 822	3 019	3 392	3 649	3 490	1 652	1 867	2 551	2 840
Bankruptcies, SMEs (growth rate)	%, Year-on-year growth rate		27.14	24.66	-14.59	3.20	10.41	-0.81	-11.17	-10.64	-5.87	6.98	12.36	7.58	-4.36	-52.56	13.01	36.64	11.33

Source: See Table 2.

Macroeconomic and financing conditions

The lending environment has undergone significant shifts in recent years. In 2021, the stock of SME debt, encompassing both long and short-term loans, stood at SEK 1.563 trillion, reflecting a 5% increase from 2020. Total outstanding business loans amounted to SEK 4.159 trillion in 2021, marking a 7.5% rise. However, by 2022, SME outstanding loans had declined sharply to approximately SEK 1.353 trillion (a decrease of around 13%), while total business lending surged to roughly SEK 5.134 trillion (an increase of 23%). As a result, SMEs’ share of total business debt fell significantly from about 38% in 2021 to 26% in 2022.

Monetary conditions tightened significantly throughout 2022 and 2023. The Swedish Central Bank’s policy rate, which remained at 0% as recently as early 2022, was raised rapidly to 3.75% by July 2023 and further to 4% by September 2023, in response to mounting inflationary pressures.1 These were the highest policy rates observed in Sweden since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. The impact on borrowing costs was substantial: the average interest rate on new SME loans more than doubled, rising from approximately close to 2% in early 2022 to over 5% in 2023.2

As inflation began to ease in late 2023, the Swedish Central Bank paused further rate hikes. Subsequently, the policy rate was reduced to 3.75% in May 2024 and further to 2.5% by January 2025, reflecting restored progress toward price stability. Market lending rates followed this trend, declining modestly toward the end of 2024 after peaking earlier in the year. For example, the average interest rate on new corporate loans dropped to 4% in December 2024.3 Although financing costs remained above pre-2022 levels, this moderation brought partial relief to borrowers.

SMEs in the National Economy

Structural statistics reaffirm the central role of SMEs in the Swedish economy. According to the 2024 edition of Sweden’s Company Register, there were approximately 1,237,243 active enterprises, of which roughly 99.9% were classified as SMEs (firms with 0–249 employees).4 Even when excluding firms without employees, SMEs still accounted for nearly 99% of all employer businesses.

With regard to employment and economic contribution:

• Employer SMEs (0–249 employees) were responsible for approximately 57.3% of private-sector employment and around 51.4% of value added in Sweden’s single-market economy in 2024.5

• Micro-enterprises (0–9 employees), although comprising 94, 2% of all firms, contributed only 23.4% of private employment and 16.7% of value added.6

• Large enterprises (250+ employees), while making up just 0.1% of all firms, accounted for about 45.9% of employment, 53.1% of turnover, and 49.3% of value added in 2023/2024.7

This distribution supports the previously mentioned conclusion that while the Swedish enterprise landscape is overwhelmingly dominated by micro firms in numerical terms, a disproportionate share of economic output and employment is concentrated among a relatively small number of large firms.

Updated structural data hence indicate a consistent pattern: SMEs continue to account for roughly 55–60% of private employment and approximately 50% of value added. This enduring distribution reflects the structural dualism of the Swedish economy, wherein both agile SMEs and large corporations serve as indispensable pillars of national economic performance.

SME lending

Swedish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain highly dependent on bank financing, and developments in SME lending closely reflect broader macroeconomic shifts. In 2021, the total stock of outstanding SME loans, both short and long-term, reached SEK 1.563 trillion, marking a 5% increase from the previous year. This expansion was largely driven by heightened credit demand as the economy recovered from the initial shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. SMEs accounted for approximately 38% of all business lending in 2021, signalling that larger firms also accessed substantial credit during the rebound phase.

In 2022, however, outstanding SME loans dropped significantly, falling to approximately SEK 1.353 trillion (a decline of ~13%), even as overall business lending surged to SEK 5.134 trillion, an increase of 23%. This notable divergence resulted in the SME share of total business lending falling to about 26%. Several factors contributed to this shift: a discontinuity in the data series due to revised reporting methodology by Statistics Sweden, tighter monetary conditions and increased risk aversion among both lenders and borrowers. At the same time, large corporations significantly increased their borrowing, likely to strengthen liquidity buffers amid rising operational costs.8

By 2023, SME lending showed tentative signs of recovery. The stock of outstanding SME credit rose by approximately 7% to around SEK 1.445 trillion, while total business lending edged slightly downward to SEK 5.092 trillion. This raised SMEs’ share of outstanding business credit to roughly 28%. The modest rebound suggests a cautious resumption of bank lending to smaller firms, in line with easing inflationary pressures and improved macroeconomic stability. Nevertheless, credit conditions remained tighter than in 2021, reflecting, for example, the impact of elevated interest rates.

Short-term SME credit mirrored these patterns. Following growth in 2021, short-term loans declined from SEK 439 billion to SEK 404 billion in 2022, before increasing to approximately SEK 456 billion in 2023 (accounting for 31,5% of total SME lending in 2023), indicating fluctuations in working capital needs amid shifting business conditions. Long-term SME loans followed a similar trajectory, falling to around SEK 949 billion in 2022 and rebounding slightly to SEK 989 billion in 2023.

Credit conditions

From 2015 until the onset of the pandemic, Sweden experienced an extended period of ultra-low interest rates. The Swedish Central Bank’s policy rate remained below zero for most of 2015–2019, supporting favourable borrowing conditions for SMEs. During this period, average interest rates on new SME loans fluctuated between 1.5 and 3%. 9

In late 2019, the Swedish Central Bank began gradually increasing the policy rate, raising it to 0% from –0.50% the previous year, amid signs of economic strength. However, the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted this normalization. During 2020–2021, the policy rate remained at 0.00% and extraordinary monetary and fiscal measures ensured sufficient liquidity. SME borrowing costs remained stable, with average rates around 1.5–2%10, while credit availability was underpinned by low default rates and government guarantee schemes.

This favourable environment shifted dramatically in 2022 as inflation surged. Beginning in Q2 2022, the Swedish Central Bank implemented a series of rapid policy rate hikes, raising the policy rate from 0.00% in February 2022 to 3.75% by July 2023, and to 4.00% by September 2023. These actions aimed to curb inflation, which had significantly exceeded the 2% target and to anchor inflation expectations. In response, average lending rates for new bank loans to non-financial corporations, including SMEs, increased by just over 4 percentage points since January 2022, reflecting generally tight credit conditions in all sectors, with the interest rate spread between SME and larger firm lending temporarily widening as banks priced in higher credit risks for smaller borrowers. By mid-2023, lending rates for both SMEs and larger firms converged around 5 to 6 percent.11

The tightening cycle substantially raised financing costs for businesses. By mid-2023, many SMEs were borrowing at rates above 5%. Coupled with high energy and input costs, this increased debt-service burden exerted pressure on vulnerable sectors, particularly interest-sensitive industries such as real estate and construction. Rising insolvency rates (the proportion of entities that cannot meet their debt obligations), especially among smaller firms, signalled emerging financial distress during 2022–2023.

Encouragingly, inflation began to moderate by late 2023, falling from approximately 10% in early 2023 to approximately 2% by year-end.12 As inflation slowed, the Swedish Central Bank paused its rate hikes and initiated a gradual easing cycle: the policy rate was reduced to 3.75% in May 2024, to 3.25% in October, and to 2.50% in January 2025. By February 2025, the policy rate stood at 2.25% still above pre-pandemic levels, but well below its 2023 peak.13

Throughout these rate fluctuations, Swedish banks remained well-capitalized and generally willing to lend. However, credit standards tightened in 2023, as indicated by bank lending surveys.14 The phase-out of government guarantee programs by 2022 further meant that SME lending in 2023–2024 was shaped primarily by market conditions rather than policy backstops (government support mechanisms).

Looking ahead, the trajectory of inflation and monetary policy will remain key determinants of credit conditions for SMEs. A sustained return to low inflation and moderate interest rates would support more stable and affordable financing for smaller firms, facilitating investment and long-term growth in the sector.

Alternative sources of SME financing

Swedish SMEs and start-ups benefit from a dynamic non-bank financing ecosystem, notably in the form of venture capital (VC) and growth equity. According to Invest Europe, venture and growth capital investment in Swedish companies reached approximately EUR 2.13 billion in 2021 and EUR 2.18 billion in 2022, reflecting strong confidence in Sweden’s innovation-driven sectors.

In 2023, total investment declined to EUR 1.87 billion, followed by a further drop to EUR 1.42 billion in 2024, according to Invest Europe. These figures represent a downward trend in capital flows, influenced by tighter monetary conditions and increased investor selectivity, though overall levels remain well above pre-pandemic averages.

Other indicators

The moderate decline in SME bankruptcies in 2020 and the sharp 53% decrease in 2021 may be attributed to the effectiveness of pandemic-related government support. However, as these measures were phased out and cost pressures intensified, bankruptcies among SMEs (with 1–249 employees) increased by approximately 13% in 2022, reaching 1867 cases. The trend continued into 2023, with SME bankruptcies rising to 2,551 cases, and further increased to 2,840 cases in 2024. This trajectory suggests that pandemic-era support measures had only temporary stabilizing effects, with financial strain resurfacing thereafter.

Government policy response

Public initiatives have complemented private capital markets. Almi Företagspartner, the government-owned development finance institution, significantly increased its SME lending during the pandemic as part of Sweden’s countercyclical policy response. Almi’s disbursements peaked in 2020, far surpassing pre-pandemic levels, and gradually returned to normal levels by 2022 as commercial credit markets stabilized. This trend underscores Almi’s role as a flexible policy instrument, scaling up support during crises and scaling down as market-based financing becomes more accessible.

In 2024–2025, Sweden did not introduce a new broad-based SME guarantee scheme comparable to the pandemic measures; instead, policy focused on targeted and market-complementary instruments. Almi continued to provide direct lending to SMEs, with disbursements of SEK 1.79 billion in 2024 and SEK 1.96 billion in 2025, including green loans supported by EIF/InvestEU guarantees15. Almi’s Green Loan supports SME investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, circular solutions and other climate-related investments, with disbursements of SEK 145 million in 2024 and SEK 108 million in 202516. Exporting SMEs also continued to benefit from EKN’s working-capital and investment-credit guarantees, which share banks’ risk; in 2025, EKN integrated Export Leap into its regular offering and digitalised guarantee processes to facilitate bank use17. 

Overall, the diversification of financing sources has strengthened access to capital for Swedish SMEs. While bank lending remains the primary funding source, venture capital, private equity, and public financing institutions like Almi provide essential complementary capital, especially for high-growth and early-stage enterprises and during periods of financial market stress. This multifaceted financing environment has contributed to the resilience and sustained development of Sweden’s SME sector in recent years.

Figure 1. Trends in SME and entrepreneurship finance in Sweden

Source: See Table 1

Table 2. Sources and definitions of the Sweden’s Scoreboard

Indicator	Definition	Source
Outstanding business loans, SMEs	Sum of SME short and long-term liabilities from the balance sheet, excluding loans from group companies or associates and excluding firms with 0 employees. Excludes ISIC codes A (Agriculture, forestry, fishing) and K (Financial and insurance activities). Includes only limited companies. Group companies are classified to the size class according to the total number of employees in the enterprise group.	Statistics Sweden, Structural Business Statistics. Based on administrative data on liabilities collected from the National Tax Agency.
Outstanding business loans, total	Sum of short and long-term liabilities from the balance sheet, excluding loans from group companies or associates and excluding firms with 0 employees. Excludes ISIC codes A (Agriculture, forestry, fishing) and K (Financial and insurance activities). Includes only limited companies.	Statistics Sweden, Structural Business Statistics. Based on administrative data on liabilities collected from the National Tax Agency.
Outstanding short-term loans, SMEs	Sum of SME debts (liabilities) from the balance sheet with a due date less than 12 months from closing day, excluding loans from group companies or associates and excluding firms with 0 employees. Excludes ISIC codes A (Agriculture, forestry, fishing) and K (Financial and insurance activities). Includes only limited companies. Group companies are classified to the size class according to the total number of employees in the enterprise group.	Statistics Sweden, Structural Business Statistics. Based on administrative data on liabilities collected from the National Tax Agency.
Outstanding long-term loans, SMEs	Sum of SME debts (liabilities) from the balance sheet with a due date 12 months or longer from closing day, excluding loans from group companies or associates and excluding firms with 0 employees. Excludes ISIC codes A (Agriculture, forestry, fishing) and K (Financial and insurance activities). Includes only limited companies. Group companies are classified to the size class according to the total number of employees in the enterprise group.	Statistics Sweden, Structural Business Statistics. Based on administrative data on liabilities collected from the National Tax Agency.
Direct government loans, SMEs	Sum of new lending by ALMI.	ALMI Business Partner. Unpublished data.
Non-performing loans, total	"Bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans are the value of nonperforming loans divided by the total value of the loan portfolio (including nonperforming loans before the deduction of specific loan-loss provisions). The loan amount recorded as nonperforming should be the gross value of the loan as recorded on the balance sheet, not just the amount that is overdue."	International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans (%), http://data.imf.org/?sk=5ba7aeb2-c426-4b07-acae-ff4e5bbd461e&hide_uv=1
Interest rate, SMEs	Bank interest rates - loans to corporations of up to EUR 1 million with a floating rate and an IRF period of up to one year (new business)	ECB, Data Source in SDW: http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/quickview.do?SERIES_KEY=124.MIR.M.SE.B.A2A.F.R.0.2240.SEK.N
Interest rate, large firms	Bank interest rates - loans to corporations of over EUR 1 million with a floating rate and an IRF period of up to one year (new business)	ECB, http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/quickview.do?SERIES_KEY=124.MIR.M.SE.B.A2A.F.R.1.2240.SEK.N
Venture and growth capital	Sum of Private Equity investments in Swedish portfolio companies in the Growth and Venture phase.	Invest Europe
Payment delays, B2B	Average payment delay of domestic B2B customers	Atradius Payment Practices Barometer Sweden 2018, https://atradius.se/documents/ppb18_sweden_2018.pdf
Bankruptcies, SMEs	Number of court ruled bankruptcies for companies with 1-249 employees	Tillväxtanalys (Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis)

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Notes

← 1.  Global-Rates.com. (2025, June 18). Riksbank policy rate – Sweden (Swedish Central Bank interest rate). Downloaded from https://www.global-rates.com/en/interest-rates/central-banks/7/swedish-riksbank-policy-rate/

← 2.  Ekonomifakta. (2025). Räntor på företagslån. Downloaded from https://www.ekonomifakta.se and Statistiska centralbyrån. (2025). Räntor på nya lån till icke-finansiella företag. Downloaded from https://www.statistikdatabasen.scb.se

← 3.  Ibid

← 4.  Ekonomifakta. (2025, 26 maj). Företag. Downloaded from: https://www.ekonomifakta.se/sakomraden/foretagande/naringslivet/foretagens-storlek_1212719.html

← 5.  European Commission. (u. å.). SME country fact sheet – Sweden. From CIRCABC: webgate.ec.europa.eu/circabc-ewpp/d/d/workspace/SpacesStore/e5602fe9-e22c-4c14-8da3-3e3d4f92c43a/download and Botsari, A., Gvetadze, S., & Lang, F. (2024, December 16). The European Small Business Finance Outlook 2024 (EIF Working Paper No. 2024/101). European Investment Fund. Downloaded from https://www.eif.org/news_centre/publications/eif-working-paper-2024-101.pdf

← 6.  European Commission. (u. å.). SME country fact sheet – Sweden. Downloaded from CIRCABC: webgate.ec.europa.eu/circabc-ewpp/d/d/workspace/SpacesStore/e5602fe9-e22c-4c14-8da3-3e3d4f92c43a/download

← 7.  Statistiska centralbyrån. (u. å.). Företagens ekonomi (FEK). Downloaded from https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/statistik-efter-amne/naringsverksamhet-och-utrikeshandel/foretagens-produktion-forsaljning-och-ekonomi/foretagens-ekonomi/

← 8.  Finance Sweden & Copenhagen Economics. (2025, April). Competition in the Swedish banking sector. Downloaded from https://www.financesweden.se/media/p2sdbhl4/2504-competition-in-the-swedish-banking-sector-2025_final.pdf and Sveriges Riksbank. (2022, 9 november). Finansiell stabilitetsrapport 2022:2. Downloaded from https://www.riksbank.se/globalassets/media/rapporter/fsr/svenska/2022/221109/finansiell-stabilitetsrapport-2022_2.pdf

← 9.  TheGlobalEconomy. (2024). Sweden: Business credit interest rate. Downloaded from https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Sweden/Business_credit_interest_rate/

← 10.  Ibid

← 11.  Sveriges Riksbank. (2023). Financial Stability Report 2023:2 [PDF rapport]. Downloaded from https://www.riksbank.se/globalassets/media/rapporter/fsr/engelska/2023/231109/financial-stability-report-2023_2.pdf riksbank.se+3riksbank.se+3riksbank.se+3

← 12.  Statistiska centralbyrån. (2025). Inflationen i Sverige. Downloaded from https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/sverige-i-siffror/samhallets-ekonomi/inflation/

← 13.  Global-Rates.com. (2025, June 10). Riksbank policy rate – Sweden (Swedish Central Bank interest rate). Downloaded from https://www.global-rates.com/en/interest-rates/central-banks/7/swedish-riksbank-policy-rate/

← 14.  Sveriges Riksbank. (2023). Financial Stability Report 2023:2

← 15.  https://www.almi.se/globalassets/om-almi/finansiell-information/2025/almi-ars-och-hallbarehetsredovisning-2025.pdf and https://www.almi.se/globalassets/om-almi/organisation-och-ekonomi/organisation/almi-ab/protokoll-bolagsstammor/2025/protokoll/bilaga-2-ars--och-hallbarhetsredovisning-2024.pdf

← 16.  https://www.almi.se/en/loan/green-loan/

← 17.  https://www.ekn.se/en/guarantees/our-guarantees/ekns-guarantees/working-capital-credit-guarantee-for-sme/ and https://www.ekn.se/globalassets/dokument/finansiella-rapporter/en/ekn_annual_report_2025_.pdf