Alternative financing for SMEs
How do you find alternative financing for SMEs? Perhaps you want to raise money as a company (https://www.eyevestor.com/educatie/bedrijven/geld-ophalen/), but you cannot do that with the typical SME financing (https://www.eyevestor.com/educatie/bedrijven/mkb-financiering/).
Or maybe, you want to use alternative financing for SMEs, simply because you prefer not to work with a bank. This is not necessary at all, because there are excellent alternatives available. We list a number of alternative forms of financing.
5 well known forms of alternative financing
Curious about how you can get financing as an SME outside the bank? This can be done, for example, in these 5 ways:
- Leasing
Use some form of rent to pay for business assets such as a car, machine, or computer. You pay a fixed amount per month, in exchange for which you can use it. Note: keep in mind the differences between financial lease and operational lease. - Factoring
On average, do your customers take plenty of time to pay invoices? You can 'factor' new invoices. This means that the factoring company will pay you the invoice in advance. You will receive the invoice amount, minus the fee for factoring. Your customer then pays the factoring company. - Microcredit
Do you need a maximum of 50,000 euros? You can use a microcredit. For this you can use other lenders than the banks alone, so that an alternative is available. - Business Angels
With a private or informal investor (such as an ex-entrepreneur) you have the opportunity to raise, for example, 50,000 to 500,000 euros. Business Angels invest based on trust in your company and its growth potential. - Crowdfunding
With crowdfunding you bring money together from a large group of stakeholders. These are often private individuals who lend you money. With that money you can make an investment, for example in a machine or renovation of your company.
Sharefunding: Involved ambassadors
Another form of alternative financing for SMEs is sharefunding. This combines a number of fine properties of the 5 alternatives mentioned above.
Sharefunding brings money together from a large group of (private) investors. They believe in your company, its growth potential and your plans for the future. Unlike crowdfunding, they do not provide you with a loan, but take shares in the company. This can be done in all kinds of ways and according to strict conditions, so that you naturally retain (full) control.
Alternative SME financing
Are you looking for alternative financing for SMEs? Thanks to sharefunding, you use a large group of committed ambassadors to generate money. It is now an investment instead of a loan, so that you retain much more financial freedom and you get the chance to spread your entrepreneurial wings.