There are a growing number of online websites that provide a network of lenders to support loans for small businesses. Now these sites are interesting because it is not banks or financial institutions loaning the money, but everyday people like you and me. This is not only cool because it gets the banks out of the equation, but the people lending the money can also track the progress of the company and can feel very involved in the success of that company it lended the funds to. Some of these sites are microloan sites for personal loans and some are specific to projects or small businesses. Borrowers can state their case or cause and hope that a lender will bite. There are several different business models out there with these sites, but all are interesting! Here are a few of the interesting sites that I found:
www.zopa.com
www.prosper.com
www.fynanz.com
www.greennote.com
www.kiva.com