(24 April 2019) – Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are turning to non-bank financing sources at a faster pace than in the past, as bank lending to them has risen less than expected.
Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2019: An OECD Scoreboard finds that online peer-to-peer lending and equity crowdfunding increased significantly in 2017, especially in countries with small markets.
China, the United Kingdom and the United States continued to have the biggest online alternative finance markets for businesses.
Venture capital investments were up in most countries, and the number of SME listings expanded by more than 13% in 2017, with total SME market capitalisation up 16.7%.