OCDE - Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2026 - Dinamarca de 2026

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FINANCING SMES AND ENTREPRENEURS 2026: DENMARK © OECD 2026

Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2026: Denmark

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FINANCING SMES AND ENTREPRENEURS 2026: DENMARK © OECD 2026

Key facts on SME financing In 2023, not counting non-employer enterprises, SMEs accounted for 99.5% of all en terprises 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, wh ich 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 decr ease 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 to large firms during overall increasing rates. A t its peak in January 2023, the spread reached 9 percentage points. In 2024 however, the notable decline in interest rates overall also led to

interest rate spread to large firms during overall increasing rates. A t its peak in January 2023, the spread reached 9 percentage points. 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 E KF Denmark’s Export Credit Agency. EIFO provides a single point of access for Danish companies that can benefit from government risk capital and financing and aims to improve Danish economic growth, in line with political priorities, including notably sustainability.

Denmark2 

FINANCING SMES AND ENTREPRENEURS 2026: DENMARK © OECD 2026

Table 1. Scoreboard for Denmark Indicator Unit 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Debt

Table 1. Scoreboard for Denmark Indicator Unit 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Debt Outstanding business loans, total DKK billion 732 809 814 812 809 830 884 1 042 1 062 1 095 1 128 1 163 1 207 1 250 1 302 1 444 1 526 1 590 New business lending, total DKK billion 332 385 318 313 292 241 303 474 519 508 521 570 597 507 518 783 629 656 New business lending, SMEs DKK billion 41 35 28 35 34 39 37 55 73 51 52 49 68 56 50 57 46 42 Share of new SME lending % of total new lending 12.29 9.15 8.96 11.21 11.70 16.25 12.07 11.51 14.10 10.12 10.08 8.60 11.36 11.03 9.70 7.34 7.24 6.38 New short-term loans, SMEs DKK billion 26 26 22 23 24 20 22 34 35 31 29 27 24 26 25 39 35 28 New long-term loans, SMEs DKK billion 14 9 6 23 10 19 15 21 38 21 23 22 44 30 25 19 11 14

New long-term loans, SMEs DKK billion 14 9 6 23 10 19 15 21 38 21 23 22 44 30 25 19 11 14 Share of short-term SME lending % of total SME lending 64.70 74.57 78.79 50.00 70.53 51.49 60.25 62.38 48.48 60.00 55.63 55.09 35.66 46.04 50.09 67.28 76.18 67.30 Government loan guarantees, SMEs DKK million 210 178 242 1 180 1 707 1 552 1 492 1 478 1 459 1 745 1 535 1 312 1 423 3 109 2 636 2 007 1 349 1 329 Government guaranteed loans, SMEs DKK million

17 61 251 699 1 040 1 213 1377 1 255 1 246 2 934 2 478 1 663 1 044 1 112 Interest rate, SMEs % 5.97 6.59 5.33 4.39 4.38 3.91 3.78 3.82 3.60 3.14 2.70 2.58 2.73 3.28 4.92 4.52 8.97 4.91 Interest rate, large firms % 5.23 5.68 3.63 2.49 2.40 2.14 1.73 0.96 0.80 0.88 0.81 0.60 0.58 0.78 0.65 1.28 4.30 4.57

Interest rate spread Percentage points 0.75 0.91 1.70 1.90 1.97 1.77 2.04 2.86 2.80 2.26 1.89 1.98 2.15 2.51 4.27 3.24 4.66 0.34 Non-bank finance Venture and growth capital EUR million 263 205 159 280 186 270 241 230 339 554 532 699 475 430 1 089 1 224 1 179 1 117 Venture and growth capital (growth rate) %. Year-on-year growth rate

-22.3 -22.5 76.57 -33.5 45.13 -10.8 -4.73 47.66 63.33 -4.03 31.47 -32 -9.57 153.35 12.40 -3.68 -5.26 Other indicators Payment delays, B2B Number of days 7.2 6.1 12 12 13 12 10 9 4 4 2 3 3 20 12 11 16 Bankruptcies, SMEs Number

2 563 2 583 1 938 1 958 1 698 1 328 1 584 1 853 1 888 2 013 2 153 1 841 1 768 2 351 2 448 1 999 Bankruptcies, SMEs (growth rate) %. Year-on-year growth rate

0.78 -25 1.03 -13.3 -21.8 19.28 16.98 1.89 6.62 6.95 -14.5 -3.97 32.98 4.13 -18.3

Source: See Table 4. 3

FINANCING SMES AND ENTREPRENEURS 2026: DENMARK © OECD 2026

Macroeconomic and financing conditions

Source: See Table 4. 3

FINANCING SMES AND ENTREPRENEURS 2026: DENMARK © OECD 2026

Macroeconomic and financing conditions In 2024, the growth in GDP was 3 .7%, up from 2.5% in 20231. Growth is expected to decline slightly and stabilise at around 2% in coming years. The relatively high growth was caused by developments in Danish production abroad and the reopening of the Tyra Gas Field. 2 SMEs in the national economy In 2023, SMEs (firms with less than 250 full-time employees) accounted for 99. 5% of all enterprises and accounted for 47.3% of all full time employees in Denmark, not counting non-employer enterprises. Table 2. Distribution of firms and employees, 2023 By firm size Firm size (employees) % of firms % of full-time employees SMEs (1-99) 99,5% 47,3% - Micro (1-9) 86,0% 13,7% - Small (10-49) 11,2% 17,0% - Medium (50-249) 2,3% 16,7% Large (250+) 0,5% 52,7% Note: Non-employer enterprises (< 1 full time equivalent employee) are not included.

Source: Statistics Denmark.3

SME lending Lending to SMEs (approximated by loans amounting to less than EUR 1 million) from financial institutions decreased slightly from DKK 46 to 42 billion between 2023 and 2024. The share of new SME lending compared to new total lending was 6.38% in 2024, below the average of 10.11% in the period 2014-2023. New short-term SME loans decreased by 20% in 2024 while new long-term loans increased by 27.27%. The share of short-term loans to long-term loans decreased from 76.18% to 67.30 %.

New short-term SME loans decreased by 20% in 2024 while new long-term loans increased by 27.27%. The share of short-term loans to long-term loans decreased from 76.18% to 67.30 %. Credit conditions Interest rates for SMEs as well as for large firms have been steadily declining s ince 2008 until 2019. The interest rates for SMEs have been increasing from 2019 at 1.85% to its peak in 2023 at 8.97% in 2023, followed by a rapid decrease back down to 4.91%. Additionally, the interest rate spread was relatively wide between 2021 and 2023, followed by a narrowing in 2024 at 0.34 percentage-points . Additionally, since 2019, there has been a general tendency towards tighter credit conditions for firms, also via stricter lending standards and increased collateral and contractual requirements. In late 20 24 however, such conditions appeared to begin easing again.4 

FINANCING SMES AND ENTREPRENEURS 2026: DENMARK © OECD 2026

Alternative sources of SME financing According to analysis by EIFO, venture and growth capital financing from Danish pr ivate equity firms slowed slightly in both 2023 and 2024 following the record high level of EUR 1224 m illion in 2022. The decrease in 2024 stems largely from a slowdown in growth capital which dro pped 25 % by volume. The 2024 level of venture and growth capital remains significantly higher than any year before 2022. Table 3. Venture capital and growth capital in Denmark, 2019-2024 By stage of investment (in EUR thousand) 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Seed 41 459 60 409 87 653 99 894 89 804 84 703 Early-stage 133 020 118 296 225 388 189 478 215 195 274 711

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Seed 41 459 60 409 87 653 99 894 89 804 84 703 Early-stage 133 020 118 296 225 388 189 478 215 195 274 711 Late-stage 216 913 229 128 773 193 186 779 332 617 373 691 Growth 153 826 162 013 847 248 480 000 552 523 414 330 Total 545 217 569 845 1 933 483 956 150 1 190 140 1 147 435

Note: Seed-category includes Pre-seed and seed rounds. Figures include categorised rounds of known round-sizes.

Source: EIFO analysis Other indicators According to Intrum, B2B (businessto-business) payment delays have been increasing from 11 days in 2022 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 policy response In June 2024, the Danish government introduced a comprehensive Entrepreneurship Package comprising 46 distinct initiatives to create more favourable conditions for entrepreneurs and SME s. One of five overarching areas of the package, and the area of highest financial significance, is Improved access to capital and eased tax regime. Accordingly, the package includes efforts to ease access to capital for certain prioritised policy areas , through significant capital injections to EIFO, the Danish National Promotional Bank and Export Credit Agency. More than 2 billion DKK were allocated for general and green mandates, while more specific areas have received smaller earmarked allocations. It also served to make permanent several schemes for government guaranteed loans, includin g growth loans (Vækstlån), the match financing scheme (Matchfinansieringsordningen), and small government loan guarantees (Vækstkautioner), which had varying degrees of formalisation. The schemes are described in the following sub-sections.

loans (Vækstlån), the match financing scheme (Matchfinansieringsordningen), and small government loan guarantees (Vækstkautioner), which had varying degrees of formalisation. The schemes are described in the following sub-sections. Finally, the package reduces tax barriers for all entrepreneurs, while a particular emph asis is placed on reducing barriers to IPO. 5

FINANCING SMES AND ENTREPRENEURS 2026: DENMARK © OECD 2026

Government guaranteed loans Growth loans (Vækstlån) are loans issued by EIFO directly to SMEs and smal l mid-caps seeking capital for business development or a change of ownership. The financial assessment is based on the company’s current and past performance, its potential for growth and profitability, as well as i ts management capabilities. All loans are granted as part of a funding package that is provided by other financial partners, such as banks and mortgage institutions. The interest rate is set in accordance with EU ’s guidelines4 and is usually set approx. 30% above the comparable market rate to ensure minimal market distorti ons, avoid a crowding out of the private sector, and hedge against collections/defaults in which banks an d other creditors have preferred claims on pledged collateral. The match financing scheme (Matchfinansieringsordningen) allows EIFO to issue l oans (Matchlån) and convertible loan notes (Early Engagement) by matching investments of private investors. The loans are specifically targeting young, innovative enterprises who may in time be eligible for venture capital, in other words, highly scalable and potentially global enterprises with an innovative product or business model. The maximum loan amount for all three types of loans is, as a general rule, EUR 1.1 million and the maximum maturity is 10 years. The amount of government guaranteed loans increased from DKK 1 044 million i n 2023 to DKK 1 112 million in 2024. Government loan guarantees

maturity is 10 years. The amount of government guaranteed loans increased from DKK 1 044 million i n 2023 to DKK 1 112 million in 2024. Government loan guarantees Growth loan guarantees (Vækstkautioner) are provided to SMEs and cover up to 75% of a bank’s loss in the event of a default. Capped at DKK 2 million, growth loan guarantees can be granted to finance business development, changes in ownership, capital investments, or the development of new an d improved products. The working capital guarantee in EIFO was first established as a temporary guarantee scheme to provide operating and development credit for Danish export firms. The scheme has si nce been made permanent and extended so it is no longer reserved for export firms. EIFO can guarantee up to 80% of operating and development credit extended by banks to Danish export firms and their sub-s uppliers. EIFO assumes all rights and obligations associated with the scheme. Government loan guarantees issued to SMEs decreased slightly from DKK 1 349 million in 2023 to DKK 1 329 million in 2024.6 

FINANCING SMES AND ENTREPRENEURS 2026: DENMARK © OECD 2026

Figure 1. Trends in SME and entrepreneurship finance in Denmark

Source: See Table 4. 7

FINANCING SMES AND ENTREPRENEURS 2026: DENMARK © OECD 2026

Table 4. Definitions and sources of indicators for Denmark’s Scoreboard Indicator Definition Source Debt Outstanding business loans, total Outstanding business loans amount to existing loan agreements that have not been realised at the time of accounting and hence still exist on the balance sheet. All loans summarised in the data regard non-financial institutions. Loan providers are banks and mortgage-credit institutions. Regarding banks, outstanding loans amount to a day-to-day average of the monthly balance. As for mortgage-credit institutions, outstanding loans amount to the balance at the end of the month for

regard non-financial institutions. Loan providers are banks and mortgage-credit institutions. Regarding banks, outstanding loans amount to a day-to-day average of the monthly balance. As for mortgage-credit institutions, outstanding loans amount to the balance at the end of the month for mortgage loans based on covered bonds, and as a day-to-day average of the monthly balance regarding other loans. There is a break in the data in October of 2013. Please note the discrepancy between the data in the 2023 Masterscoreboard and previous scoreboards. This discrepancy is casued by a change from only reporting loans in DKK to reporting loans in all currencies from 2013 onwards in order to ensure consistency with the other indicators. Danmarks Nationalbank, DNRUUM New business lending, total Flow of loans to non-financial companies of all sizes. Data is monthly, aggregated to arrive at annual data. There is a break in the data in October of 2013. Danmarks Nationalbank, DNRNUM New business lending, SMEs Flow of loans to non-financial companies of less than 7.5 MM DKK. Data is monthly, aggregated to arrive at annual data. There is a break in the data in October of 2013. Danmarks Nationalbank, DNRNUM New short-term loans, SMEs Short-term SME lending is approximated by using loans issued at a value of EUR 1 MM or lower, with an interest rate to be adjusted annually or more frequently. There is a break in the data in October of 2013. Danmarks Nationalbank, DNRNUM New long-term loans, SMEs Long-term SME lending is approximated by using loans issued at a value of EUR 1 MM or lower, with an interest rate to be adjusted less than annually. There is a break in the data in October of 2013. Danmarks Nationalbank, DNRNUM Share of shortterm SME lending

Government

with an interest rate to be adjusted less than annually. There is a break in the data in October of 2013. Danmarks Nationalbank, DNRNUM Share of shortterm SME lending

Government loan guarantees, SMEs Guarantees (growth guarantees and small guarantees) to SME enterprises granted by Vækstfonden (The Danish Growth Fund) and guarantees (working capital guarantees and capital expenditure guarantees) to SMEs granted by EKF (Denmark's export credit agency). In 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 SME guarantee schemes administered by Vækstfonden and EKF have also been included. Please note that the guarantees granted by EKF unfortunately, have not been included in the years of 2022 and 2023. Vækstfonden and EKF / Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) Government guaranteed loans, SMEs Loans to SME enterprises granted by Vækstfonden (The Danish Growth Fund) until 2023 and EIFO (Export and Investment Fund of Denmark) from 2023 and onwards and backed by government guarantees. The loans consist of growth loans (Vækstlån) and loans under the match financing scheme (Matchfinansieringsordningen). In 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 loan schemes (COVID-19matchfinansieringsordninger) administered by Vækstfonden have also been included. Vækstfonden / Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) Interest rate, SMEs Weighted average annual rates for new loans, with maturity up to 1 year; and amounts for up to DKK 7.5 million. Monthly rates are weighted such that interest rates in very active months should have a larger weight when calculating the yearly interest rate, than interest rates where almost no loans were issued. There is a break in the data in October of 2013. Danmarks Nationalbank,

DNRNUM

7.5 million. Monthly rates are weighted such that interest rates in very active months should have a larger weight when calculating the yearly interest rate, than interest rates where almost no loans were issued. There is a break in the data in October of 2013. Danmarks Nationalbank, DNRNUM Non-bank finance Venture and growth capital Data from 2023 and onwards includes pre-seed, seed, early-stage, late-stage and growth capital invested in danish firms. Before 2023 it was Industry statistics (by country of private equity firm) with the source being InvestEurope (All Private Equity. Sum of Total venture and Growth capital). Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) Other indicators Payment delays, B2B Average delay in number of days for business-to-business. Data for 2007 is the average for both the number of days for business-to-business, business-to-customer and public entities. Intrum Bankruptcies, SMEs Monthly declared bankruptcies in companies with employment of 1-19 employees. Aggregated to annual data. Danmarks Statistik,

KONK78 

FINANCING SMES AND ENTREPRENEURS 2026: DENMARK © OECD 2026

References Danmarks Nationalbank (2025): “Dansk økonomi i balance trods usikre tider” https://www.nationalbanken.dk/da/viden-og-nyheder/presse/arkiv/2025/dansk-oekonomi-i-balancetrods-usikre-tider-19-03-2025 Danmarks Nationalbank, DNRNUM (2025): ”DNRNUM: New domestic loans excl. revolving loans, etc. from MFI sector excl. Danmarks Nationalbank.” https://nationalbanken.statbank.dk/DNRNUM Danmarks Nationalbank, DNRUUM (2025): ”DNRUUM: Outstanding domestic loans from the MFI sector excl. Danmarks Nationalbank.”

from MFI sector excl. Danmarks Nationalbank.” https://nationalbanken.statbank.dk/DNRNUM Danmarks Nationalbank, DNRUUM (2025): ”DNRUUM: Outstanding domestic loans from the MFI sector excl. Danmarks Nationalbank.” https://nationalbanken.statbank.dk/DNRUUM EIFO (2025): ”Danish venture capital market analysis 2024” https://www.eifo.dk/media/5mcpl2f3/venture-market-analysis-2024_march-2025.pdf Intrum (2023): “European Payment Report Country Snapshots White Paper 2023.” https://www.intrum.com/insights/publications/epr-country-snapshots-white-paper2023/ Statistics Denmark, GF13 (2023): ”GF13: General enterprise statistics.” https://statbank.dk/GF13 Statistics Denmark, KONK7 (2025): “KONK7: Bankruptcies by employed.” http://www.statbank.dk/KONK7 Statistics Denmark, NAN1 (2025): “NAN1: Demand and supply.” https://statbank.dk/NAN1 9

FINANCING SMES AND ENTREPRENEURS 2026: DENMARK © OECD 2026

Notes

1 Statistics Denmark, NAN1 2 Danmarks Nationalbank: Dansk økonomi i balance trods usikre tider 3 Statistics Denmark, GF13 4 Communication from the Commission on the revision of the method for setting the reference and discount rates (2008/C 14/02)10  FULL COUNTRY PROFILE: DENMARK

FINANCING SMES AND ENTREPRENEURS 2026: DENMARK © OECD 2026

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