Small and medium-sized companies make up a significant part of the Swedish business community in terms of number of companies and number of employees.
As part of our mission, Vinnova wants to strengthen the innovation capacity of small and medium-sized companies and promote their competitiveness, attractiveness and long-term perspective.
We do this by financing activities that have the potential to promote economic development and contribute to a sustainable society. This can be done partly as a return on the investment we make with public funds; partly because sustainability opens up new opportunities and can lead to increased attractiveness, increased investments and increased profits.
Since gender equality is a prerequisite for sustainable growth, we want our funding both women and men. We also want our investments lead to a diversified and more equal business and social development that makes Sweden an international role model.
With the call Innovation projects in small and medium-sized companies, we want to contribute to the development of innovations such as
- creates or improves the conditions for companies to strengthen their competitiveness and value creation. By innovation we mean that the intended solution must be new and bring great value. The value can either be in relation to the company's customers by addressing their needs in a significantly better way than competing or alternative solutions; or to the company itself by creating decisive competitive advantages for the company in terms of reduced costs or increased productivity (eg more efficient production, new business model, etc.).
- creates or improves the conditions for companies to broaden their customer base by exploiting existing or new markets
- creates or improves the conditions for companies to develop new knowledge and other unique assets, tangible or intangible, which strengthen companies' business sustainability and give companies an edge in the development and exploitation of future innovations
- creates or improves the conditions for companies to strengthen their long-term competitiveness and attractiveness, by investing in the development of sustainable innovations, ie new products, services and processes that contribute to a sustainable society
- improves the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises to drive and lead future innovation projects
- is in an early development stage where the company has difficulty investing in development or obtaining private funding due to. uncertainties and risks
On sustainability
The goals for sustainable development offer great opportunities for the business community to develop their business. As the global demand for sustainable products, services and infrastructure increases, integrating a sustainable perspective into its activitiesis a strong success factor.
More and more companies have realized how their work to achieve the global goals for sustainable development in Agenda2030 gives greater meaning and commitment to customers and employees, which often leads to increased profitability and productivity.
Read more about Vinnova's work to achieve the global goals
See more examples of how companies contribute to the global goals