She’s Next - Spearheading female empowerment in Europe’s Nordic and Baltic region

Meaningful inclusion of women drives success for economies all over the world. However, women are still hugely underrepresented among entrepreneurs in Europe . Supporting female entrepreneurs and giving them equal opportunities to achieve their goals is integral to building economies that prosper. She’s Next, Empowered by Visa, is a global initiative that represents Visa’s efforts in women’s advancement, and the Nordic and Baltic region is the latest Visa region to champion equality by rolling out the programme to help their people, businesses and economies thrive.

What’s the challenge?
The Nordic and Baltic region consists of a cluster of countries in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic linked by their economic, historical, political and cultural ties. As well as being rich in breathtaking views and fascinating history, the countries have a mutual demand for empowering and supporting their women-owned small and medium businesses (SMBs).

The proportion of women entrepreneurs in relation to men shows women are still underrepresented, according to a report from Swedish Tillväxtverket, and funding is the main challenge. In Sweden, only 1% of invested capital to tech companies goes to women¹. In order to steer this trend in a direction that empowers and uplifts, Visa is working to to close the unequal funding gap and cause a shift in the economy, with the She’s Next initiative becoming the spearhead for change.

No-one knows the challenge better than Mille Skjold Madsen, owner of Økonomista, a new magazine about finance for women, by women. When asked about her battle for change and what Visa’s support means to her, she said:
“It has been a tough fight for the last 2.5 years for my company and I to prove that we need a completely radical change in the way we talk about finance. I am incredibly honored that Visa recognizes the work we have done and are doing, with this grant.”

Creating better conditions for women like Mille is part of the strategy to develop the Nordic and Baltic region more widely. Access to more capital, coaching, role models and smaller networks as well as putting companies like Økonomista in the spotlight will create equal entrepreneurial opportunities and support women-owned business growth.

Powerful partnerships
Visa is uniquely placed to enable a programme such as She’s Next. The partnerships with other organisations from the financial industry and beyond is helping to supercharge the initiative. For example, pairing up with IFundWomen has brought She’s Next to life. IFundWomen is a funding and education platform that provides access to capital through grants and crowdfunding as well as expert business coaching and a network of women business owners. This has helped create a community of women throughout the Nordic and Baltic region who bring success to SMBs, which in turn elevates the economy into one that flourishes.

As well as help securing capital, the She’s Next programme has given these SMBs visibility across multiple media outlets across each country. Partnerships in Nordic and Baltic countries have delivered national coverage for She’s Next, boosting outreach for female owned businesses taking part in the initiative.

The project
The programme came to the region for the first time in 2022 and enabled women entrepreneurs in the area to apply for a €10,000 grant, along with individual business coaching for a year. In the Baltics, they were also awarded €5,000 in media spend, enabled through a collaboration with Visa client Luminor.

Bringing the programme to the area has helped remove universal barriers for women entrepreneurs. The initiative is a big step towards the continuous development of this region and stands to strengthen the bonds of these Northern countries further, creating thriving economies that empower women to prosper in all aspects of their financial lives.

Steps towards success
In total, more than 2,450 women applied for the programme. One of the successful recipients, Anna Aro Ring,owner of Little Cirkus, a kids’ skincare brand with all-natural ingredients, told us what it means to business owners like her:
“This gives me the opportunity to run a little faster, develop the company and become bigger. The grant gives me the tools I need to take the next step.”

Through She’s Next, Anna is now part of a strong community of women who look to each other for support. Women like Cornelia Øiestad and Vanessa Krogh in Norway, owners of Villebrygg, a company who produce non-alcoholic drinks based on Nordic wild plants, herbs and berries. They are excited about taking their place in the community:
“We look forward to sharing thoughts and ideas with other women who have experience from business and start-ups. It is a great opportunity to be part of an international environment with female entrepreneurs through IFundWomen and Visa.”

An equal chance to prosper
Empowered inclusion and stronger economies are the key output of this initiative. For Visa, it is imperative that women have an equal chance to thrive, in order to continue strengthening businesses and creating economies that include and uplift everyone, everywhere.

The She’s Next initiative has made 266 business grants, 261 coaching grants and contributed around £2.3 million in funding to women-owned businesses around the world, but it is by no means finished². The program will be renewed in 2023 with the aim of continuous development of the concept and activities through the years to come.

Putting the women-owned businesses of the Nordic and Baltic region under the microscope has illustrated the integral part the She’s Next initiative is playing in championing equality, empowering women and creating an economy where people and businesses can prosper.