Sme Finance news and trends

IFC Places Confidence (And $10 Million) In Power2SME
B2B Payments // September 06, 2017

Months after first signaling plans for the investment, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has placed $10 million in group buying site Power2SME. Reports Tuesday (Sept. 5) said the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, had announced the equity investment in the company, which provides...

Alt-Lending Enjoys Sudden Investment Revival
B2B Payments // August 04, 2017

Alternative lending was the golden child among investors around 2015, but lately, the industry seems to have fallen out of favor thanks to regulatory uncertainty and questions over the viability of some business models. This week alone saw two examples of those concerns in action:...

Franklin Capital Launches Export Finance Unit
B2B Payments // August 04, 2017

With an eye on companies looking to grow internationally, SME financing company Franklin Capital Network announced news that it has launched an export financing operation. The firm said Thursday (Aug. 3) that it has rolled out Franklin Export Funding and announced that it has joined...

Chinese Alt-Lender Dianrong Lands $220 Million
B2B Payments // August 03, 2017

Singapore sovereign fund GIC recently led a $220 million funding round for Chinese alternative lending platform Dianrong as the company looks to focus on research and development in China. The funding may mean the platform is eyeing potential expansion throughout the continent, news reports said...

Interviews & Exclusives
Small Business Jobs Grow, But Even-Smaller Firms Struggling

July 10, 2017
How is U.S. employment stacking up? It depends on who you ask. The U.S. Labor Department announced Friday (July 7) that the country added 222,000 jobs in June, far surpassing Wall Street estimates of 175,000. But data from ADP and Moody’s Analytics found 158,000 jobs added in June, missing earlier expectations of 185,000 added jobs. […]

Can Banks Turn SMBs’ Cash Flow Nightmares Into Dreams Of Success?

May 30, 2017
Small business optimism is hitting new peaks, and while SMBs say they’re planning for growth, they’re not necessarily willing to spend money to access capital — nor do they have the...

B2B FinTech Investors Planning Ahead

May 05, 2017
Don’t let the seemingly low value of $42 million raised this week by B2B venture capital firms fool you: VC activity in the space was strong, hitting key verticals like...

Big Banks Find Big Optimism Amid Small Business Week — But Here’s The Catch

May 03, 2017
The Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Week is in full swing, and new data from top banks finds small business optimism is soaring. Research from U.S. Bank released this...

Quick Reads
IFC Places Confidence (And $10 Million) In Power2SME

September 06, 2017
Months after first signaling plans for the investment, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has placed $10 million in group buying site Power2SME. Reports Tuesday (Sept. 5) said the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, had announced the equity investment in the company, which provides small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with a B2B eCommerce platform […]

CAN Capital’s Risky Strategy

January 17, 2017
It was CAN Capital’s ambitious growth plans that led the alternative SME lender to eventually falter, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. The publication said Monday...

Sage Earnings Foretell 2017 Investments

December 01, 2016
Small business cloud accounting company Sage Group has released promising figures from its fiscal year (FY) 2016 performance, and reports say the firm will continue to pursue growth via strategic...

SMBs Lean On Friends And Family To Thrive, BofA Finds

November 16, 2016
Despite what Bank of America describes as a “challenging business environment,” SMBs are thriving, thanks in large part to friends and family. The bank released its latest semi-annual report on small businesses...