March 27, 2017 @ 2:04 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

German-based SME lending platform Bitbond and African payment services provider BitPesa announced on Monday they have formed a new partnership to improve access to African SMEs financing.  Bitbond stated that by working with BitPesa, borrowers who receive funding on its lending platform can now have their loan… Read More

March 10, 2017 @ 7:55 am By JD Alois  |  

PwC’s Accelerator has published the first edition of their SME Equity Financing Atlas.  According to their data, equity investments in SMEs have been growing steadily over the last years. The main drivers are the accumulation of capital in investor’s hand, new technologies and low-interest rates…. Read More

February 24, 2017 @ 11:56 am By JD Alois  |  

As traditional banks reduce their physical presence across the country some online lenders are increasing their brick and mortar operations.  Assetz Capital is investing in their regional team and, in fact, grew their numbers by 110% during 2016. Stuart Law CEO and co-founder of the P2P… Read More

February 20, 2017 @ 2:20 pm By Therese Torris  |  

At the onset of the marketplace lending market, lending to businesses was equated with lending to small and very small businesses: businesses at the low end of the small and medium-size enterprise (SME) market who were borrowing on average under €100,000.  However, as the alternative lending… Read More

February 16, 2017 @ 8:26 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

LendingCrowd, one of the UK’s fastest-growing alternative finance lenders to the SME market, announced on Thursday it launched one of the first Innovative Finance ISAs (IFISAs) by a peer-to-peer lender with a target rate of return of 6% a year. The online lender revealed that with… Read More

February 15, 2017 @ 11:16 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Royal Bank of Scotland’s NatWest announced it is set to launch its very own digital SME lending platform called Esme. The new platform is notably set to offer new and existing NatWest customers with unsecured loans that are worth up to £150,000 for a maximum… Read More

February 14, 2017 @ 8:23 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced regulatory changes to boost the resilience of finance companies and enhance their ability to provide financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The financial regulator said that some finance companies fill an important niche in providing access… Read More

November 7, 2016 @ 2:46 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Lidya, an online financial services platform, officially went live on Monday and is now issuing loans to SMEs. The new website was created by the founders of Africa Courier Express (ACE), Tunde Kehinde and Ercin Eksin. The founders of Lidya revealed its first product is a… Read More

June 9, 2016 @ 7:20 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Wednesday (June 8), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced it is revamping the country’s crowdfunding industry by offering new ways for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to gain access to funds through securities-based crowdfunding (SCF) platforms easier. MAS stated in a press release it… Read More

May 24, 2016 @ 9:04 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, Online lender to SMEs, OnDeck (NYSE:ONDK) announced it was expanding lending Canada’s small businesses by including a line of credit up to CAD$50,000 and loan term up to CAD$250,000 to help meet the growing needs of the country’s 1.1 million small businesses. In… Read More

April 13, 2016 @ 1:00 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

This week, Singapore-based crowdfunding platform, CoAssets, hosted its first annual SME CORE (Capitalising Opportunities & Realising Expectations). This event aims to provide SMEs with perspective, business solutions and information from public and private sectors.   Topics discussed included the following: SME Financing and Support, Leveraging Human Resources and… Read More

December 1, 2015 @ 12:14 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Just over a year after securing a $2M seed round, Mirador today announced that the completion of a Series A round of financing. The $7 million investment was led by Core Innovation Capital, with participation from Nyca Partners and Jump Capital. Initial seed investors Collaborative Fund, Wicklow… Read More

November 6, 2015 @ 11:05 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Milan-based Assiteca Crowd, one of the first platforms equity crowdfunding authorized by Consob, launched “Assiteca Crowd Startup Showcase,” a contest offering startups and innovative SMEs the opportunity to finance itself on the platform also receiving assistance with accompanying free path.  The crowd will help determine the… Read More

October 21, 2015 @ 11:16 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

This week, Platform Black announced it has funded over £100 million in invoices for UK SMEs. The provider of alternative finance has reached this milestone in just three years since the company’s inception, an achievement which highlights the soaring demand from UK businesses for access to… Read More

July 23, 2015 @ 10:12 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Capify, formerly AUSvance, will serve as an international conglomerate provider of unsecured alternative finance solutions to SMEs. Capify,  powered by a proprietary technology and analytics platform, today announced its global rebrand aiming to become the most diverse, worldwide alternative SME financing platform. Headquartered in the… Read More

May 13, 2013 @ 10:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Vocal British business advocate Lord Young has published another report championing the cause of business and more specifically the importance of small businesses. Lord Young has been involved in several successful businesses and held multiple government positions where he has tirelessly promoted the importance of… Read More