France. Home to the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and more than five million small businesses. And also, the latest market with an active Froda Embedded partnership.

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As one of Europe’s largest economies, it should come to no surprise that France is also home to one of Europe’s largest populations of small businesses, a big portion of which are self-employed. And the number might be rising, as France has seen record levels of new business being created, with more than 1.1 million registrations in both 2024 and 2025. 

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Just like in most countries in Europe, small businesses are the backbone of the French economy. They make up more than 99 percent of all businesses in France and create almost half of the job opportunities and GDP contribution. And just like in other European countries, the smallest businesses remain structurally underserved in terms of financing.

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This particularly affects the 96 percent of French businesses who are micro-businesses and the more than 4 million self-employed. 

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Shine – the business bank for small businesses and freelancers

Shine is one of France's pioneering business neobanks with around 200,000 customers. The company offers a financial copilot for small businesses, pairing an online business account with invoicing, expense-management and accounting tools and seven-day human support. 

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Launched in 2018 by Nicolas Reboud and Raphaël Simon, Shine set out to simplify banking and administration for freelancers, micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses. It was awarded "Best Business Bank" by ESCDA in 2024, 2025 and 2026 and prides itself on simplifying life for businesses and professionals, while aiming to be a positive force for society and the environment.

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Shine was acquired for the first time in 202 by Société Générale, one of France’s biggest traditional banks, before being sold again to Danish fintech Ageras in 2024. The whole Ageras group subsequently rebranded to Shine, before being acquired by the french ERP giant Cegid one year later.

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Froda Embedded x Shine partnership

The partnership between Froda and Shine goes back to 2023, when Froda and the Shine (then Ageras) entered into a strategic partnership. In 2024, Kontist by Shine went live with Business loans in Germany through Froda’s Card-based lending product. The partnership was extended in 2025, when Shine Denmark (then Billy) went live as well. 

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In 2026, Kontist by Shine Business loan got a major upgrade when Froda’s InvestEU microfinancing guarantee was added to the product. The solution was Europe's first fully automated, InvestEU-guaranteed business loan, and was made possible thanks to Froda’s €150 million EU-wide microfinancing facility, the only EU-wide EIF guarantee of its kind. 

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With the launch in France through Shine, a new chapter is added to what’s already a successful partnership. Shine Business loan is built on the same fully automated, Invest-EU backed solution as Kontist by Shine uses. It has a 100 percent digital customer experience, is integrated into the Shine app and uses the customer’s Shine commercial card to instantly push funds to their account as well as automatically pull the repayments. 

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For Shine, the launch of Business loans means that the company takes another step towards becoming a one-stop-shop, serving all their customers' financial needs. It also means that they can provide a solution to all the French small businesses that have been structurally locked out of financing in the past, giving them access to financing with higher approval rates, faster decisions and better pricing, available directly through the Shine app. 

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Interested in learning more about Froda Embedded and how embedded financing can help improve your business? Book a demo today.