Krea reaches 1 billion SEK of brokered financing as more companies realise the benefits of digital credit procurement

Krea, the financing marketplace for small- and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), has reached its milestone of SEK 1 bn in brokered financing volume. Krea’s growth rate is increasing as the brokered volume has more than doubled compared to 2021. The recent increase comes as more companies are starting to realise the benefits of solving their financing needs through digital procurement in order to achieve seamless access to credit with the best possible rates. Krea is now on course for international expansion, and has recently launched its platform into neighbouring Finland under the brand name Kredita. 

SMEs account for four out of five new jobs in Sweden, but over 50% of Swedish entrepreneurs  find it difficult to obtain external financing for new investments and growth. Krea was founded in 2018 with the mission to make it easier for SMEs to get access to the right financing with the best possible terms.

Krea initially focused solely on comparison of business loans and gradually expanded the platform’s capabilities by  adding real estate and factoring. Today, Krea’s service has evolved from being a leading loan comparison service into a full-fledged financing service including a comprehensive advisory service. The financing amount has also increased as Krea now supports SMEs with financing needs up to 100 mSEK. 

The way to better terms 

By using Krea’s procurement platform, SMEs can describe their business in a comprehensive and accurate manner while accessing Krea’s network of more than 30 different banks and other lenders. 

Via Krea’s access to the largest network of banks and lenders with a single application, SMEs are more likely to find an attractive financing offer that fits with their requirement for interest rate, collateral and other terms. The transparency of Krea’s marketplace, and the fact that Krea continues to add more banks and lenders to its network, translates into larger loan amounts and increasingly attractive rates. The median rate at which a company received financing on Krea’s platform has decreased by 20% and the median approved loan amount has increased by 30% since 2019. 

Besides providing an easy path to financing with the most attractive terms, Krea’s platform also solves the finance “access problem” for SMEs. Since each lender has a specific focus segment and has specific requirements for signing a customer (e.g. credit score or profitability), the opportunity for successful financing depends on getting in contact with the right bank or lender. Using Krea, SMEs achieved an average approval rate of over 70%, which is 2 times higher compared to the single lender with the highest approval rate in Krea’s network. Krea has a unique tool that enables SMEs to strengthen their application with up-to-date financial statements which give lenders a better understanding of the latest performance and results of the business. The outcome of adding more data is reduced risk for the lenders and higher approval rate on applications submitted by SMEs. 

Looking forward 

After having successfully established a strong market position in Sweden, Krea has recently launched its platform in the Finnish market under the brand name Kredita. Krea continues to invest in its technology and organisation and currently have several open positions.