Lack of awareness amongst SMEs of alternative finance options is creating a potential economic hole of up to £20bn, according to a report from by GLI Finance.
The findings are backed by key industry stakeholders including the Federation of Small Businesses, British Chambers of Commerce, National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers, Asset Backed Finance Association, Innovate Finance, and techUK.
Head of Public Affairs at GLI Finance Louise Beaumont says: “Lack of awareness amongst SMEs of the financing options available to them – despite a plethora of well-intentioned documents, reports and guides for SMEs – is an issue that threatens to undermine the UK’s economic recovery, and we call upon the Government to leverage the proven track record of the behavioural insights (aka ‘Nudge’) approach to build upon the progress made by the alternative finance industry to date. We must think less about individual policies and mechanisms in isolation and much more about the bigger picture. We need to do the simple things much more effectively to enable SME behaviour change, and to create an environment where the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act can flourish to the benefit of SMEs and to drive growth in the broader economy.”
