Sweden has established itself as one of Europe’s leading fintech hubs, supported by an advanced digital infrastructure, a progressive regulatory environment, and proactive government initiatives promoting fintech adoption.
At the heart of this thriving ecosystem lies Stockholm, a city celebrated for its innovation, dynamic startup culture, and capacity to attract substantial venture capital (VC). Stockholm ranks fourth in Europe for VC allocation and is the 25th in the Global Financial Centres Index, boasting a remarkable finance sector comprising approximately 1,100 companies.
As a leading fintech hub not just in the Nordics but across Europe, Stockholm is a launchpad for some of the hottest and fastest-growing startups. In this list, we look at the most promising fintech companies emerging from this city, exploring their innovative approaches and recent achievements.
For this list, we’ve used data from two key sources: Wired’s Hottest Startups in Stockholm in 2024 list, released in October 2024, and the 2024 FT 1000 ranking, by the Financial Times and German research company Statista.
The Hottest Startups in Stockholm 2024 list identifies companies based on their innovation and market disruption potential. Meanwhile, the FT 1000 ranking highlights the fastest-growing European companies, ordered by compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue from 2019 to 2022.
Atlar
Founded in 2022, Atlar provides businesses with the tools to get real-time financial visibility, move money efficiently, and make better decisions. The company offers a modern treasury platform that consolidates cash management, payments, forecasting, and reporting into a single, user-friendly interface.
Businesses plug into the platform via an API, which in turn hooks into banks. They can then automate all of their payment activities, including initiating transfers, reconciling transactions, handling direct debits, and more. This radically reduces the resource demand while helping maintain capital flows and business records.
Backed by Index Ventures and General Catalyst, Atlar has attracted a number of notable companies, including Aiven, Acne Studios, GetYourGuide, Liberis, Natural Cycles, and Zilch.
Atlar was named one of Stockholm’s hottest tech startups in 2024 by Wired, celebrated for its market potential, innovative approach, and significant recent achievements.
Fairlo
Founded in Stockholm in 2018, Fairlo aims to redefine the borrowing experience by offering an alternative to traditional credit cards, expensive loans, and buy now, pay later (BNPL) schemes. The company provides an innovative platform which leverages technology to offer automated, user-friendly financial services designed to address short and medium-term borrowing needs in real time. Customers benefit from fair and flexible terms.
Fairlo has demonstrated remarkable growth, ranking as the 9th fastest-growing company in Europe with a CAGR of 321.8% between 2019 and 2022, according to the FT. In 2022, Fairlo’s revenue reached nearly EUR 12 million.
In 2024, Fairlo secured a license from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), enabling it to expand further into the British market.
Fairlo is backed by one of the Nordics’ most well-known incubators, Sting, Stockholm Innovation and Growth, Swedish state-owned Saminvest, as well as a multitude of experienced investors.
Anyfin
Founded in 2017 in Stockholm, Anyfin aims to enhance consumers’ financial well-being by providing transparency and simplicity in debt management. The company helps households refinance their loans, reduce high-interest debts, and track all credit obligations in one place, making financial health more accessible and understandable.
At its core, Anyfin empowers users to save money by improving the terms of existing loans rather than encouraging new borrowing. It provides a streamlined and intuitive platform that allows users to refinance debts with a few simple steps.
To date, Anyfin says it has improved the terms of over 900,000 loans across Finland, Norway, and Germany. The company is backed by Accel, EQT Ventures and Northzone, amongst others. In January 2023, it secured a EUR 30 million Series C funding round to fuel the growth of its business across Europe, and strengthen its product suite in both new and existing Europe markets.
Anyfin was ranked as the 353rd fastest-growing company in Europe, recording a CAGR in revenue of 78.9% over the period 2019 to 2022, with revenue reaching nearly EUR 7.6 million in 2022, according to the FT.
DBT Capital
Founded in 2017, DBT Capital aims to create better growth opportunities for Sweden’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The company provides loans ranging from SEK 3 million (EUR 260,000) to SEK 35 million (EUR 3 million) to Swedish limited liability companies across all industries.
By combining advanced technology and data-driven processes with personalized collaboration, DBT Capital has created an innovative approach to SME lending. Its proprietary credit intelligence platform integrates real-time data from customers’ accounting systems and public sources through application programming interfaces (APIs), enabling swift and precise credit decisions.
Since its inception, DBT Capital has lent over SEK 2.5 billion (US$217 million) to hundreds of SMEs. The company is supported by notable backers, including the European Investment Fund (EIF), Swedish investment company Oresund, and Oman AB.
From 2019 to 2022, DBT Capital achieved a CAGR of 46.9%, with revenue exceeding EUR 8.4 million in 2022, making it the 749th fastest-growing company in Europe, according to the FT.
Featured image credit: edited from freepik
