Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship | E.J. Reedy | March 13, 2017

The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago and the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School Launch the 2017 Americas Alternative Finance Industry Survey

Study done in association with major industry associations, with support from CME Group Foundation and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

The Polsky Center and the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago and the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School are teaming up again to launch the 2017 Americas Alternative Finance Industry Survey with the support of major industry associations across North, Central and South America. This is a continuation to last year’s study of crowdfunding, marketplace/peer-to-peer lending, and other forms of alternative finance in Americas.

2017 Americas Alternative Finance Industry Survey

Deadline: Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Complete the 2017 Americas Benchmarking Survey --> Now

In 2016, The University of Chicago and the University of Cambridge launched the first benchmarking survey aimed to capture the size, transaction volume and growth of the alternative finance markets across North, Central and South America. 257 online alternative finance platforms operating in the Americas, including 178 from the US and Canada participated. The end result was the publication of “Breaking New Ground: The Americas Alternative Finance Benchmarking Report” - the first comprehensive review of the fast-changing online alternative finance market in the Americas.

Since the global financial crisis, alternative finance, which includes financial instruments and distributive channels that emerge outside of the traditional financial system, has thrived in the US, Europe and Asia. From equity-based crowdfunding to marketplace/peer-to-peer consumer and business lending, from invoice trading to reward-based crowdfunding, these alternative finance activities are supplying credit to small businesses, providing venture capital to start-ups, offering more diverse and transparent ways for consumers to invest or borrow money, nurturing creativity, fostering innovation, generating jobs and funding worthwhile social causes.

See:  Online Alternative Finance Market in the U.S. Surges to More Than $36 Billion in 2015: KPMG Report

“Policymakers everywhere are trying to better understand the emergence of the alternative finance industry. This survey and forthcoming report are critical to getting an impartial view from industry and academia about the alternative finance industry across the Americas,” according to Randall S. Kroszner, Norman R. Bobins Professor of Economics at Chicago Booth and faculty advisor to the survey.

Last year’s report found that the Americas online alternative finance industry grew to $36.49 billion, a 212% annual increase from the $11.68 billion in 2014. Between 2013 and 2015, alternative finance platforms across the Americas have delivered over $50 billion in funding to individuals and businesses, with the US market contributing 99% of the total funding volume. With $36.17 billion in total transaction volume in 2015, the US is the world’s second largest online alternative finance market behind Mainland China.

The 2017 survey will cast light on the changing nature of alternative finance marketplace across the Americas, in turn informing policy-makers and regulators in respective jurisdictions, facilitating dialogue and learning between industry associations and key stakeholders, raising the level of awareness about crowdfunding and p2p lending in start-up and SME communities, social enterprise and social finance spheres and among the general public.

“The past year has seen significant changes in regulatory policy as well as several market and firm-specific events relevant to the online alternative finance industry.  Our hope is that this year’s report will shed light on how these developments are impacting the evolution of the industry across the Americas.”, said Robert Wardrop, Executive Director of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance.

The findings of the survey will be made publicly available in a 2017 Americas Alternative Finance Industry Report due to be published in late May 2017. This benchmarking survey is supported by the CME Group Foundation and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).  For more information:   here

Complete the 2017 AltFi Benchmarking Survey Now