Small-Business Financing in the 21st Century

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on the broad topic of “Small-Business Financing” and includes novel research on all aspects of this topic, including but not limited to different types of equity financing, such as angel capital, bootstrap financing, crowd investing, family office, “friends and family” investing, private equity, and venture capital; as well as debt financing, such as bank lending, credit-union lending, crowdlending, government lending, payday lending, and trade credit. Micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are considered to be the backbone of economies through their contributions to employment and GDP. The World Bank reports that “formal” SMEs account for more than 90% of all firms and more than half of employment around the world. Access to financing, both debt and equity, is one of the most pressing issues faced by MSMEs, especially in times of stress such at the global financial crisis of 2008–2010 and during the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

We seek empirical papers on all aspects of small-business financing, but theoretical papers are also welcomed. Contributions with important policy implications and those that address issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic are especially encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Rebel Cole
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Risk and Financial Management is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Angel financing
• Bank and debt financing
• Bootstrap financing
• Crowdfunding
• ESG and gender issues in SME financing
• Family offices
• Incubators and accelerators
• IP-based financing
• Private equity and buyouts
• Small firm financing
• Venture capital