Entrepreneurial projects’ development: alternative sources of investments

This study aims at researching the possibilities of using alternative sources for financing small and medium-sized business projects. The main study method is a survey of 275 experts who are heads of small and medium-sized enterprises of the Republic of Kazakhstan. According to the obtained results, the access to financing is an urgent problem for most enterprises. Bank loans and overdrafts remain the main sources of attracting investments for the implementation of development projects. At the same time, a considerable number of companies that need financing were not able to obtain a bank loan or failed to obtain the full amount of the requested funds, and only a small part of the companies managed to raise the required bank financing. Companies face particular difficulties when attracting investments in startups. Despite the fact that nowadays there are many new options for financing startups, Kazakh entrepreneurs do not use them actively. In order to increase the chances for obtaining funds, companies must more actively attract alternative sources of financing for new projects. According to the survey, the most relevant sources of alternative startup financing for Kazakh entrepreneurs have been identified. These are grants, business angel financing, and crowdfunding. When implementing startups, companies can choose the most suitable financing option, or use several options.