What’s important when the bank is reviewing a loan application? What are the demands to extend the loan? How do you sell your business idea? With the new web based Financing game (Finansieringsspelet) you can prepare ahead of meeting the bank representative and thereby increase the chance for your application to be approved.
In Sweden, people with a non-Swedish background start around 20 per cent of all companies. At the same time it’s often more difficult to get a loan approved when you’re not born and raised in Sweden. The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, in collaboration with SEB and IFS, a non-profit organization which protects and promotes migrant entrepreneurs, have therefore developed a learning game on the web that can help entrepreneurs to prepare for the face-to-face meeting at the bank.
The game, among other things take into consideration information about how banks reason when they review a loan application, what demands they put up and what they base an objective credit review on.
“It’s tough to start from zero when you get to a new country as a grown-up. Meeting with the bank for the first time can be problematic, as “new Swede” you may have difficulties with the language, regulation and laws in Swedish society. Additionally, a bank wants to see references and income details, and can you show that? We want to bridge that gap,” says Belgin Fortaci, who is responsible for diversity and entrepreneurial issues at SEB’s Swedish retail banking unit.
SEB also participated in developing the Culture Bank (Kulturbanken) earlier this year. This is a web based game aimed at bank employees so they can learn more about social codes in different cultures and thereby improve how the bank and an entrepreneur can understand each other. The Culture Bank will be part of SEB’s educational effort for client executives and tellers this coming autumn.