Inflation and the rise of the dollar complicate the economy of Peruvian companies. According to the OECD (2020)of the total loans granted in the Peruvian market, only 22% is granted to SMEs. In countries with economies advanced, the credits SMEs represent 56%, while the average for emerging economies is 35%. For this reason, the financing alternative is becoming an option increasingly sought after by companies, since it democratizes the market, making it more inclusive.
According to Nicolás Shea, founder of Cumplo, SMEs need money to grow. Faced with this, many entrepreneurs are betting on alternative online financing, which allows them to offer different options to access working capital without altering the credit history. For this reason, the founder of Cumplo explains that there are new options to finance businesses without going into debt.
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1. Crowdfunding
It is the use of small amounts of capital from a large number of people to finance a company through the internet. There are three types: investment, loan, reward and donation. This last modality is excellent to avoid debts, since the funds are delivered for the sole purpose of the project going ahead and the return is merely emotional.
Therefore, it is important to keep those involved informed of the progress of this.
2.Private equity
It is about financing the growth of a company with private capital, in exchange for its shares. Although it carries risks and rewards, this action can take place at different stages of the company depending on its objective, which may be to promote a venture or restructure a company.
3.Factoring
It is a purchase or financing of the invoices of an SME. Basically, it consists of a third party buying the invoice from an SME before your client pays it. Generally, suppliers in Peru and in Latin America are paid, on average, within 60 days.
But many times companies cannot wait that long, because they have to pay salaries, buy materials, invest, so what companies do is sell their invoice to a third party.
That third party could be a fintech like Cumplo, which started operations in Peru in June. Cumplo is a financing platform for SMEs, whose mission is to build a fairer financial system for companies. “We are a company that was born with a purpose, we want to irrigate quality capital to SMEs in Latin America”, Nicholas Shea specifies.
Since its creation, Cumplo has financed more than US$1.4 billion to SMEs in Latin America, making companies’ capital flow faster and at more convenient rates than the alternatives that exist in the market.