Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2026: Switzerland
Table of contents
Only 0.3% of all Swiss enterprises are large, and SMEs continue to dominate the enterprise landscape, constituting 99.7% of all firms.
Switzerland recorded real GDP growth of 0.9% in 2024, compared with 1.2% in 2023. Total outstanding SME loans rose by 1.8% in 2024, reaching CHF 562 billion, a slower pace than in 2023, when SME loans grew by 3.4%. Micro enterprises recorded growth of 3%, while small and medium-sized enterprises contracted by 0.8% and 0.5% respectively.
Over the 2007-24 period, SME loans expanded by 74.1%, while overall corporate lending rose by 80.7%.
Lending standards tightened only slightly in 2024, with robust loan demand by firms throughout the year, while demand for loans by households increased slightly.
Since reaching its lowest point of 1.74% in 2021, the average interest rate charged to SMEs increased in 2022 (2.56%) and in 2023 (3.30%), but fell again in 2024 to 2.39%. Meanwhile the interest rate spread between large and small companies increased to 53 basis points (in 2024), having reached its lowest level since 2009 of 38 basis points in 2023.
Venture and growth capital investments declined sharply by 48.8% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 and 2022, there was a recovery, with growth of 21.7% and 79.5% respectively. However, after declining by 23.9% in 2023, venture and growth capital investments experienced a further decrease of 16.6% in 2024.
In online alternative finance, the number of crowdfunding platforms increased to 38 in 2024, compared to 36 in 2023. In 2024, however, only 23 platforms recorded funding campaigns. The largest volume share within the various crowdfunding categories continues to come from crowdlending (74%) followed by crowdinvesting (21%). The volume of crowd supporting/crowd donating declined by 7.2% in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Payment delays in the business-to-business sector edged down from 13 days in 2023 to 11 days in 2024. They nonetheless remain above their level before the COVID-19 pandemic (8 days in 2019). Liquidity pressures stemming from the pandemic continue to weigh on businesses.
In Switzerland, four guarantee cooperatives support SMEs in obtaining bank loans of up to CHF 1 million. Loan guarantee volumes increased steadily over the 2007-2010 period, declined slightly in 2011, and continued to grow from 2012 to 2021. The Parliament has amended the Federal Law on Financial Aid for Loan Guarantee Organisations: since 1 July 2019, the law allows for guarantees up to CHF 1 million (previously, the ceiling was CHF 500’000). Since 2021, there has been a decrease in volume year on year, partly due to a certain amount of cannibalisation by special measures related to the pandemic.
The Swiss Federal Council has adopted three measures in particular to support SME financing during and beyond the pandemic: bridging credits through a guarantee programme, credits through a guarantee programme specific for start-ups and a hardship support programme (mainly non-repayable contributions) for companies which were, due to the nature of their economic activities, particularly affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. These special COVID-19 guaranteed credit programmes require, in principle, full repayment of the credit within eight years. By the end of 2024, around 11% of Swiss companies still benefited from these credits.
According to the provisional results available, the real GDP grew by 0.9% in 2024 after the 1.2% increase registered in 2023. Domestic demand supported growth due to above-average growth in private consumption. In the wake of a significant decline in merchanting, foreign trade made a negative contribution to growth overall.
In the first quarter of 2025, Switzerland's real GDP grew by 0.8%, following 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024. The services sector delivered broad-based growth. Domestic demand developed positively. Meanwhile, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry expanded at an above-average rate.
SMEs, defined as firms with up to 250 employees, constituted 99.7% of Swiss enterprises in 2023, employing 66.1% of the labour force. Micro enterprises constituted 89.8% of all firms, employing 24.7% of the country’s workforce, while large enterprises only comprised 0.3% of total firms and employed 33.9% of the labour force.
By firm size
Note: Data includes commercial companies in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.
Source: STATENT 2023, published in 2025.
Both total outstanding business loans and SME outstanding business loans continued to grow in 2024 on a year-on-year basis, by 1.3% and 1.8% respectively, compared to their 2.9% and 3.4% growth in 2023. This growth was driven entirely by micro-enterprises, which expanded by 3.0%. All other size classes contracted: small enterprises by 0.8%, medium-sized enterprises by 0.5% and large enterprises by 1.1%. These movements are small and likely reflect a stabilisation following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Except for 2009 and 2014, SME loans grew each year between 2007 and 2024, achieving a total growth rate of 74.2%. SME loans generally expanded less rapidly than overall business loan growth, which grew by 80.7% during the same period. Consequently, the share of SME loans in total business loans contracted from 80.4% in 2007 to 77.5% in 2024.
The Swiss National Bank’s Lending Survey indicates robust loan demand by firms throughout 2024, while household loan demand picked up slightly.
The Survey also shows that banks tightened credit conditions in 2024, more strongly for firms than for households, while lending standards tightened only slightly over the year.
After rising to 2.56% in 2022 and 3.30% in 2023, interest rates on loans under CHF 1 million fell to 2.39% in 2024. The interest rate for large firms also fell, from 2.92% in 2023 to 1.86% in 2024.
The interest rate spread for loans to SMEs and loans to large firms, proxied by loans of less than CHF 1 million (SMEs loans) and greater than or equal to CHF 1 million (large firms loans), increased between 2009 and 2011 to 92 basis points (bp), before declining to 83 bp in 2013. Over 2013-14, the interest rate spread increased again to 89 bp but has since then decreased almost every year, reaching 38 bp in 2023, the lowest spread registered over the reference period 2007-2024. In 2024, however, the interest rate spread rose back to 53 bp, almost to its 2020 level.
The Banking Statistics of the Swiss National Bank indicate that in 2024, the utilisation rate of credit lines was 71.6%. This indicator has remained very stable over the years, reaching its lowest point in 2011 with 69%, while the highest point was recorded in 2013 and 2014 with 72%.
Since 2009, the percentage of SME loans requiring collateral has risen steadily from 76% to 83.9% in 2024. From 2020 to 2024, the rate has remained at around 84%.
The Swiss venture and growth capital investment market has been volatile, with strong growth in recent years. After a moderate increase in 2016 (+18.9%), venture and growth capital investments rose again by 150.6% in 2017. The volume then decreased by 30.7% in 2018 before rebounding by 123.7% in 2019. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a contraction of 48.8%, taking the volume down to EUR 901 million. Following a moderate recovery in 2021 (+21.7%) and substantial growth of 79.5% in 2022, the volume of venture and growth capital invested in Swiss firms reached EUR 1 769 million, the highest annual amount in the reference period. In comparison to the previous years, 2023 and 2024 demonstrated a decline, with respective figures of EUR 1 461 million and EUR 1 208.8 million, representing a decrease on year-to-year base of 23.9% and 16.6% respectively. However, it is noteworthy that both years maintained a volume that exceeded the average of EUR 1 100 million over the last decade. In 2024, while venture capital increased by 39.2%, growth capital declined sharply, falling by 73.7%.
Until 2022, most of the venture capital invested was concentrated in start-ups. From 2023 onwards, the majority of VC investments have been directed to later stages. In 2024, more than half of VC investments are concentrated in later stages (50.6%), an increase of 39.9% year-on-year.
Nevertheless, investments in Swiss start-ups continue to play an important role and account for 38.5% of VC investments in Swiss companies. In addition, seed investment capital increased by 95.92% in 2024.
The Swiss crowdfunding market has been growing rapidly since the launch in 2008 of Cashare, Switzerland's first crowdfunding platform. As of the end of April 2025, there were 38 platforms operating in Switzerland.
In 2024, 4 071 crowdfunding campaigns in Switzerland raised CHF 550.2 million. This figure remained stable compared to 2023, with a decrease of just 0.5%. Since the first crowdfunding platform's launch in 2008, crowdfunding in Switzerland has been used to raise CHF 4.3 billion in funds.
Crowdlending once again accounted for the largest share of the total crowdfunding volume in 2024, with a volume of CHF 406.1 million and an increase of 2.0 % over the previous year. Crowd investing followed in second place with a volume of CHF 117.1 million (-11.0%). The volume of crowd supporting/crowd donating also declined compared to 2023, amounting to CHF 27.1 million (-7.2%) in 2024
According to Intrum Justitia's annual report, business-to-business payment delays have steadily decreased over the decade 2008-18, falling from 12 days to 6 days. This is the lowest value recorded since 2007. The first increase was recorded in 2019, with the payment delay period rising to 7 days and by the end of 2021, by 13 days which is the highest this indicator has been since 2007. In 2023, payment delay remained at 13 days (as in 2021), before falling back to 11 days in 2024. It is reasonable to assume that this increase is the result of the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has created liquidity problems for businesses in Switzerland and the rest of the world.
In 2024, the number of bankruptcies reached a new record for the period 2007-2024, with 8 659 bankruptcies being declared,an increase of 18% compared to 2023. Compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic, there was a 44.1% increase in bankruptcies. The increase in recent years could partly be explained by the fact that the measures taken in 2020 to counter the economic effects of the pandemic did not prevent some vulnerable companies from going bankrupt in the medium term.
The federal government assists efficient and viable SMEs in obtaining bank loans by funding loan guarantee cooperatives. These loan guarantee cooperatives enhance SMEs' access to bank loans. The maximum lifetime of a guarantee is 10 years, and the maximum guarantee amount per firm is CHF 1 million (CHF 500 000 before 1st of July 2019). Interest rates are set by the banks’ lending funds and depend on the risk profile of the project. In addition to the interest rate, firms are required to pay a 1.25% commission fee to the guarantee cooperative.
In Switzerland, four guarantee cooperatives help promising SMEs obtain bank loans. Three are regional and one is national and provides its services exclusively to women. Financing is provided mainly for working capital, expansion, investments or starting a business. In the event of a default, the government refunds 65% of the deficiency to the guarantee cooperatives. By the end of 2024, the number of beneficiaries amounted to 1 668 firms for a total guarantee of CHF 292 million. The scheme costs around CHF 190 million in outstanding liabilities for the government and generated CHF 12.8 million in realised losses from defaults in 2024 as well as CHF 3.2 re-additions from previous losses, which corresponds to a 3.14% net loss ratio. The government also contributes with an additional CHF 3 million annually to mitigate the administrative costs of the guarantee cooperatives.
Loan guarantee volumes increased steadily over the 2007-2010 period, declined slightly in 2011, and continued to grow from 2012 to 2021. Over the reference period (2007-2024), loan guarantee volumes increased by a factor of 3, largely due to a restructuring of the guarantee programmes, which increased the amount of risk covered by the government from 50% to 65%, in turn increasing demand for guarantees.
On 22 May 2019, the Federal Council brought into force an amendment to the Federal Law on Financial Aid for Guarantee Organisations allowing guarantees of up to CHF 1 million from 1 July 2019. The effects of this change were initially visible in the increase in the volume of the loan guarantees, which rose from CHF 285 million at the end of 2019 to CHF 315 million at the end of 2020 - an increase of 10.5%. In 2021, this figure even reached CHF 322 million. However, the volume has gradually declined since then, reaching CHF 292 million by 2024. This is probably partly due to cannibalisation by special measures related to the pandemic.
The main support measure of the Federal Government to ensure the liquidity of companies during the COVID-19 crisis was the bridging credit scheme. Small and medium enterprises affected by the pandemic, in particular, were able to apply to their bank for a bridging credit of up to 10% of their annual turnover and no more than CHF 20 million (EUR 19.4 million), between 26 March and 31 July 2020. Basic credits of up to CHF 500 000 (EUR 485 000) were granted via a quick and very simple procedure. These loans were fully guaranteed by the federal government and carried an interest rate of 0%. Loans exceeding CHF 500 000 are guaranteed 85% by the federal government and the remaining 15% by the respective bank. These loans had an interest rate of 0.5%. Overall, approximately 138 000 such loans had been granted with a total volume of about CHF 17 billion (EUR 16.5 billion). This initiative has had a significant impact, with around 23% of all Swiss companies and, indirectly, approximately one third of the labour force receiving support from this scheme. At the end of 2024, approximately CHF 6.2 billion of the CHF 17 billion in loans granted were still outstanding.
Another related support measure due to the COVID-19 crisis were credits for start-ups, which were guaranteed 65% by the federal government and 35% by the regional government. During the application period between 7 May and 31 August 2020, 359 such credits were granted with a total volume of about CHF 99 million (EUR 96 million).
Furthermore, in November 2020, the so-called hardship support programme was installed to support companies which were, due to the nature of their economic activities, particularly affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. The regional authorities are responsible for designing and implementing their hardship support programmes. Companies meeting the criteria to be considered a hardship case may apply for loans, guarantees, sureties or non-repayable contributions. The respective local authority could accept such applications until 31 March 2022. Up to the end of June 2023, non-repayable contributions of around CHF 5.1 billion (EUR 5.2 billion) had been disbursed to about 35 226 companies and guarantees, sureties or loans of around CHF 220 million (EUR 226 million) had been granted to about 2 100 companies. Costs and losses of these regional support programmes are mainly covered by the Swiss Confederation.
In terms of regulations, Switzerland does not have specific crowdfunding legislation and crowdfunding is generally governed by the main banking regulations. Nevertheless, Switzerland has already taken significant steps to remove unnecessary barriers to market entry and promote the fintech and blockchain ecosystem. Recognising the importance of financial technology, the Federal Council revised the Banking Ordinance in 2017 and introduced a new authorisation category in 2019 to simplify the requirements for companies accepting public funds. Since then, companies operating outside the core business of banks have been able to accept deposits from the general public of up to CHF 100 million on a professional basis, subject to simplified requirements.
Additionally, the Federal Council recognises the great potential of sustainable finance for the Swiss financial centre. The combination of sustainable financial services and digital technology (green fintech) is particularly promising. In November 2020, Switzerland established a Green Fintech Network and is actively exploring opportunities in this area, for example by proposing regulatory simplifications for Insurtech.
Switzerland is one of the leading locations for distributed ledger technology (DLT) and blockchain with over 1 000 companies and innovation-friendly framework conditions. On 1 August 2021, the Federal Act on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Electronic Register Technology and the associated blanket ordinance came into force. Switzerland was one of the first countries in the world to introduce statutory regulations for blockchain technology. This creates legal certainty and enables innovation and growth.
Source: See Table 2
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