Despite the simplistic narrative of the Italian government, which in presenting the now infamous 400 billion euro liquidity decree, it has not been spared to make propaganda about simplicity and ease of access to funds guaranteed by the state, the facts are demonstrating a very different reality. The involvement of the banks, called to disburse the loans, has extended the timing of the granting of the same and generated unequal treatment towards the applicants, treated on the basis of mere numbers and judged starting from the bank ‘respectability’ built over the years. What alternatives, therefore, for all SMEs that seek to survive the tsunami caused by the Covid-19 emergency?
A concrete answer is undoubtedly represented by alternative finance and its tools, a reality that in recent years has supported local SMEs by allowing them to increase their competitiveness, conveying constantly growing amounts towards them (2.5 billion Euros in 2018, which have become 3 billion Euros in 2019). A figure that shows how SME owners are becoming familiar with terms such as private equity, venture capital, minibonds, crowdfunding, invoice trading and direct lending.
It goes without saying that to identify the most suitable tool for your needs, whether they are dictated by the need to relaunch your business, convert it or start a new one, it is essential to rely on expert consultants, the only ones able to establish a trust relationship with the applicant, to understand its real needs and guide it through the ford of a universe culturally distant from most.
It is obviously understood that the possible intervention of the Government in terms of guarantees also in support of alternative finance could be that ‘game changer’ capable of guaranteeing maximum freedom of choice for entrepreneurs, who would actually multiply the opportunities to access credit , like those who, instead of buying a suit inside a megastore of large retailers, turn to the trusted tailor starting from the choice of fabric.