This book is about how a business can obtain a loan with out using a bank

The alternative financing space has grown exponentially in the last few decades, namely as a consequence of the financial crisis, technological advancement, niche customer segments, and more recently the pandemic. Now, with the inclusion of Fintech, online lenders, crowdfunding, accelerators, venture capitalists, or angel investors, this funding channel is no longer seen as a substitute for formal financing, but rather a core one. This book is a comprehensive guide to alternative financing methods, offering insights into emerging trends, the role of FinTech, and the intersection of finance with sustainability, innovation, and entrepreneurship. It fills a knowledge gap by exploring innovative financing channels such as fintech, green finance, and venture capital as well as other non-traditional ways of raising funds, which have become crucial for startups and businesses. It discusses the impact of financial technology (FinTech) on these methods and their function in supporting entrepreneurship and sustainable business, while also examining the implications of these technological advancements in the wider financial sector. It addresses challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs and explores how alternative financing options can support growth and innovation, particularly in the context of environmentally and socially focused ventures, including how to integrate economic, social, and environmental considerations. The emphasis on sustainability and green finance aligns with the growing global concern for responsible business practices and the Sustainable Development Goals. While the primary audience for the book is scholars, researchers, and students, the inclusion of case studies, and the exploration of various financing options, extends practical cues for policymakers and practitioners and contributes to the understanding of how finance, entrepreneurship, and sustainability intersect in real-world business scenarios.

The authors offer creative, street-smart financing techniques for raising capital for any type of business anywhere in the country, no matter what the circumstances. Nontraditional methods of achieving one's goals are outlined, using fresh and innovative sources of financing that are available to anyone with a winning idea or business.

The first and only book to systematically address methodologies and processes of leveraging non-traditional information sources in the context of investing and risk management Harnessing non-traditional data sources to generate alpha, analyze markets, and forecast risk is a subject of intense interest for financial professionals. A growing number of regularly-held conferences on alternative data are being established, complemented by an upsurge in new papers on the subject. Alternative data is starting to be steadily incorporated by conventional institutional investors and risk managers throughout the financial world. Methodologies to analyze and extract value from alternative data, guidance on how to source data and integrate data flows within existing systems is currently not treated in literature. Filling this significant gap in knowledge, The Book of Alternative Data is the first and only book to offer a coherent, systematic treatment of the subject. This groundbreaking volume provides readers with a roadmap for navigating the complexities of an array of alternative data sources, and delivers the appropriate techniques to analyze them. The authors—leading experts in financial modeling, machine learning, and quantitative research and analytics—employ a step-by-step approach to guide readers through the dense jungle of generated data. A first-of-its kind treatment of alternative data types, sources, and methodologies, this innovative book: Provides an integrated modeling approach to extract value from multiple types of datasets Treats the processes needed to make alternative data signals operational Helps investors and risk managers rethink how they engage with alternative datasets Features practical use case studies in many different financial markets and real-world techniques Describes how to avoid potential pitfalls and missteps in starting the alternative data journey Explains how to integrate information from different datasets to maximize informational value The Book of Alternative Data is an indispensable resource for anyone wishing to analyze or monetize different non-traditional datasets, including Chief Investment Officers, Chief Risk Officers, risk professionals, investment professionals, traders, economists, and machine learning developers and users.

Promoting a comparative perspective, this comprehensive Research Handbook aids in the understanding of alternative finance and its values in a global setting. Readers are encouraged to view alternative finance through the lens of economic mechanisms rather than terminology.

This handbook provides the first comprehensive overview of the fast-evolving alternative finance space and makes a timely and in-depth contribution to the literature in this area. Bringing together expert contributions in the field from both practitioners and academics, in one of the most dynamic parts of the financial sector, it provides a solid reference for this exciting discipline. Divided into six parts, Section 1 presents a high-level overview of the technologically-enabled finance space. It also offers a historical perspective on technological finance models and outlines different business models. Section 2 analyses digital currencies including guides to bitcoins, other cryptocurrencies, and blockchains. Section 3 addresses alternative payment systems such as digital money and asset tokenization. Section 4 deals with crowdfunding models from both a theoretical perspective and from a regulatory perspective. Section 5 discusses data-driven business models and includes a discussion of neural networks and deep learning. Finally, Section 6 discusses welfare implications of the technological finance revolution. This collection highlights the most current developments to date and the state-of-the-art in alternative finance, while also indicating areas of further potential. Acting as a roadmap for future research in this innovative and promising area of finance, this handbook is a solid reference work for academics and students whilst also appealing to industry practitioners, businesses and policy-makers.

Following the recent global financial crisis there is a growing interest in alternative finance – and microfinance in particular – as new instruments for providing financial services in a socially responsible way or as an alternative to traditional banking. Nonetheless, correspondingly there is also a lack of clarity about how to regulate alternative financial methods particularly in light of the financial crisis’ lessons on regulatory failure and shadow banking’s risks. This book considers microfinance from a legal and regulatory perspective. Microfinance is the provision of a wide range of financial services, particularly credit but also remittances, savings, to low-income people or financially excluded people. It combines a business structure with social inspiration, often resorts to technological innovations to lower costs (Fintech: e.g. crowdfunding and mobile banking) and merges with traditional local experiences (e.g. financial cooperatives and Islamic finance), this further complicating the regulatory picture. The book describes some of the unique dimensions of microfinance and the difficulties that this can cause for regulators, through a comparative analysis of selected European Union (EU) countries’ regimes. The focus is in fact on the EU legal framework, with some references to certain developing world experiences where relevant. The book assesses the impact and validity of current financial regulation principles and rules, in light of the most recent developments and trends in financial regulation in the wake of the financial crisis and compares microfinance with traditional banking. The book puts forward policy recommendations for regulators and policy makers to help address the challenges and opportunities offered by microfinance.