Financing
There is public money available for bringing in external expertise. The grants often cover half the cost, and they can be used both when you want to explore which improvements are possible and when you want to carry them out. Here is the overview – with amounts, requirements and pitfalls.
Published 14 October 2026 · Rules and amounts checked 14 October 2026 · about an 11-minute read
Most companies think of grants as something you apply for once you have already made up your mind. That is backwards. The grants are designed to help you work out what should be done – and then help pay for getting it done.
That is why two questions drive the choice:
Both fit within the grants – but in different ways, and that is the difference between an approved and a rejected application. Pure analysis with no link to implementation is harder to get funding for, while implementation without analysis rarely turns out well.
| Activity | Examples | Typical grant |
|---|---|---|
| Explore the current situation and opportunities | Review of systems, data flows, processes or organisation. Prioritised roadmap. | Yes if it leads to implementation |
| Automate internal processes | Orders, inventory, reporting, recurring administration. | Yes digitalisation grant |
| Better use of data | Monitoring, management control, decision support, a basis for pricing. | Yes digitalisation grant |
| AI and advanced digital technology | Mapping use cases, pilot, rollout with documentation. | Yes digitalisation grant |
| Legal terms and cybersecurity | Terms for digital services, information security, incident preparedness. | Yes digitalisation grant |
| Internationalisation strategy | Choice of market, entry model, pricing per country, plan. | Yes internationalisation grant |
| Market and supplier research | Market research, finding suppliers abroad, competitor analysis. | Yes internationalisation grant |
| Adapting for a new market | Design, CE marking, product safety, insurance, contracts, IP. | Yes internationalisation grant |
| Research-driven development | Projects with research institutes or universities and a verified research level. | Yes FoU-kort (research and development voucher) |
| Application to an EU programme | Preparing an application under Horizon Europe or Eurostars. | Yes planning grant |
| New website or e-commerce platform | Development of the platform itself. | No |
| Software, licences, hardware | Purchase of existing solutions. | No |
| Training and marketing | Courses, campaigns, content production. | No |
| Certification and patent applications | Fees for certification or for filing patents. | No |
This overview is based on VGR's and the EU networks' own descriptions and may change. Always check the current terms before you apply.
Region Västra Götaland (VGR) provides co-funding to small and medium-sized enterprises in digitalisation, innovation, internationalisation, research and renewal. In 2026, up to the autumn, the region had granted around SEK 39.9 million to 103 companies – in other words a live pot, not a closed door.
Three of the grants are particularly interesting if you want to bring in external expertise.
For established companies that want to increase their digital maturity. The grant covers external consultancy work and can be used to automate internal processes, make better use of data for monitoring and decision support, introduce AI and advanced digital technology, strengthen traceability and delivery capability, and look into legal terms and cybersecurity.
Read our full guide to the Digitaliseringscheck.
For established companies that want to explore and establish themselves in new markets and need to bring in external expertise for the venture to go ahead. Here it is clear that both analysis and preparation for implementation fit: the grant can be used to write an internationalisation strategy, carry out market research, find suppliers abroad, look into insurance, contracts and legislation, look into patents and IP rights, and investigate whether the product needs adapting – for example design, CE marking or product safety.
The FoU-kort funds research projects intended to generate new knowledge for new services, goods or processes. You can apply for up to SEK 700,000, and VGR covers up to 50 per cent of the eligible costs. Your own contribution must be at least as large and can consist of your own work.
If you are aiming for Horizon Europe or Eurostars, there is a grant that funds the work before the application: developing the project idea, IP expertise, technical consultancy, a pilot or proof of concept, market research, user interviews, a commercialisation strategy and business plan – as well as writing the application itself.
Worked example: a review and an implementation package for SEK 400,000 can give SEK 200,000 in funding – if the work falls within what the grant is for, and if you can finance your half. The principle is the same in all the vouchers: 50 per cent, up to a cap.
Even without vouchers there is help that costs nothing and requires no application.
EEN is the EU's network for international growth and has around twenty offices in Sweden, coordinated and funded by Tillväxtverket. You get personal advice, help finding international business contacts and partners, and innovation coaching – entirely free of charge. In a study, Tillväxtverket has shown that Swedish companies that have used EEN grow faster than comparable companies – in turnover, value added and number of employees – and have a higher survival rate.
For those of you in western Sweden there is a dedicated regional office: EEN Västra Götaland and Halland. Find your office at Enterprise Europe Network.
Free advice on which EU programme suits you best, with an answer within 48 hours via their helpdesk. VGR itself recommends that companies use it. Put your question to EU SME Support.
Sweden has a number of EDIHs, part of the EU's initiative to give small and medium-sized enterprises access to test environments, technical expertise and financing advice at low or no cost. This is especially useful when you want to try out a technical solution before you decide. See hubs and services on the EU portal.
If you are entering a specific market, there are programmes and events through Business Sweden and Team Sweden, often together with the regions. See current programmes at Business Sweden.
For day-to-day operations there is advice from Almi and collected information on financing at verksamt.se. Once the export deal is secured, there are also state instruments for securing payments and financing the deal, through Exportkreditnämnden (the Swedish Export Credit Agency) and Svensk Exportkredit (the Swedish Export Credit Corporation). This is not consultancy funding, but well worth knowing about in an internationalisation plan.
Based outside Västra Götaland? Several regions have their own vouchers with much the same set-up – for example Region Kalmar and Region Stockholm. EEN, EU SME Support and EDIH apply wherever you are.
How to do it
The order matters. Do it in the wrong sequence and the application will be weak – or you will do work that cannot be funded after the fact.
Where are things falling short: integrations that don't work, stock that doesn't sync, bookkeeping that doesn't add up, a market you can't reach? Decide which pieces of work are worth doing – before you look at which grant fits.
The same work can be described in several ways. It must be clear what capability you are building, why the funding is decisive and how the work ties in with implementation.
A quote from the consultant, two annual reports with auditor's reports and, for the FoU-kort, also a project plan and a verified research level. Submitted in Min ansökan, on a rolling basis throughout the year.
Payment is made after the work is done and the invoices are paid. Document as you go what is being done and what effect it has – that becomes your final report, and the next application gets easier.
We do not decide on grants. The region does. But we can make sure the application has a fair chance, and that the work is done in a way that holds up all the way to payment:
Typical work that falls within the grants includes architecture and integrations, AI and the AI Act, information security, organisation and operations and the internal flows of e-commerce – data, inventory, integrations and automation.
Amounts, requirements and time windows apply at the time of publication and may change. We update the article when we see changes – but always check the official source before you apply.
Next step
Book a 45-minute meeting. We go through your business, where the opportunities are and which grant fits – before you spend time on an application.
