World Economic Forum releases report on new sources of business financing

The World Economic Forum has completed a report on alternative sources of capital for companies.

Alternative Investments 2020: The Future of Capital for Entrepreneurs and SMEs examines the potential for these alternative sources to cause broader industry disruption in the future. 

 

Interested?

Download Alternative Investments 2020: The Future of Capital for Entrepreneurs and SMEs (PDF)

Thomson Reuters calls for alternative finance providers to respond to APAC benchmarking survey

Thomson Reuters has collaborated with The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School, the Tsinghua University Graduate School of Shenzhen and the University of Sydney Business School to conduct the 2015 Asia-Pacific Alternative Finance Benchmarking Survey.

The survey will be the first-ever comprehensive study of crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending and other forms of alternative finance across the Asia-Pacific region­­­­ – including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Sanjeev Chatrath, Managing Director, Finance & Risk, Asia Pacific at Thomson Reuters said: “Alternative finance is starting to gain significant momentum across the Asia Pacific region, rapidly catching up with Europe and the Americas. The 2015 Asia-Pacific Alternative Finance Benchmarking Survey will more definitively track this progress across the region."

Raghavendra Rau, Director of Research at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) added: “The Asia Pacific region includes many of the most populous and fastest growing developing countries in the world – China, India and Indonesia and many more. The rapid uptake of mobile technologies and the permeation of social media are enabling these countries to leapfrog traditional banking infrastructure, which suggests that the potential growth of innovative alternative finance markets in the Asia-Pacific may be higher than other regions.”

The survey is also supported by KPMG, CME Group Foundation, the ACCA and 20 leading alternative finance industry and academic research partners across Asia-Pacific and beyond, including the Crowdfunding Institute of Australia, LendIt, Crowdfund China Society, Hong Kong Crowdfunding Association, Wangdaizhijia, New Zealand Crowdfunding Society, Japan Crowdfunding Council, Crowdfund Asia Association, Korean FinTech Forum, ShengZhen Crowdfunding Association, Change Fusion Thailand, World Crowdfunding Conference, Crowdsourcing Week, Crowdfund Vibe, FinTech Hong Kong, the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), the CrowdfundInsider, the Nagoya University, the University of Amsterdam and the Ahmedabad University.

The survey is now live and closes on 18 December. Results will be made available free to the public in the 2015 China Alternative Finance Benchmarking Report and the 2015 Asia Pacific Alternative Finance Benchmarking Report, due to be published in early 2016. All findings will be aggregated either by country, region or alternative financing models and no individual platform/provider’s data will be divulged.

Interested?

All crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending and other alternative finance providers, operating in the Asia-Pacific area (excluding the Americas), are invited to contribute to the benchmarking survey. Research findings will be presented only in aggregated form (e.g. by countries, regions and models) and individual platform’s data confidentiality is ensured. All participating platforms will be acknowledged in the benchmarking report, displayed with their respective logos.

Take the survey in English, Chinese, Korean, or Japanese

More non-drug trreatments used to address depression

While depression is on the rise, the global drug market is seeing a decline as sufferers turn to alternative treatments, says research firm Technavio.

Its report on the global depression drugs market forecasts a CAGR of -6.64% from 2015 to 2019. "The prevalence of depression has become very high because of factors like genetic vulnerability, lack of proper diagnosis and treatment and a high degree of association with other disorders like diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular diseases,” says Faisal Ghaus, Vice President of Technavio. 

"Many patients are opting for complementary and alternative medicines, in combination with conventional treatments. These therapies can include relaxation techniques, massage, meditation, counseling, and art therapy. Homeopathic and naturopathic medicines have also been found to be helpful in treating depression. These effective alternatives are expected to erode the market share of drugs currently being used for the treatment of depression over the projected period.”