Study of SMEs: Return-Turbo Digitization - Outperformers rely on IoT, AI and Co.

Frankfurt (ots) - For 37 percent of medium-sized companies with
above-average returns, topics such as the Internet of Things or
artificial intelligence are very important in ongoing investment
planning. By comparison, only 18 percent of companies with an average
or below-average return put these topics at the top of their agenda.
These are the results of the "Finanzierungsmonitor 2019" study.
creditshelf, the designer of digital SME financing, together with TU
Darmstadt, surveyed 200 financial decision-makers from medium-sized
industrial, commercial and service companies.

"The high willingness to invest in the field of digitization
obviously has a direct effect on the economic performance of
companies," says Dr. Daniel Bartsch, CEO and founding partner of
creditshelf. The outperformers were more open to the opportunities
offered by new technologies than their competitors. Even if the
direct financing costs were high, the investments "could provide
important impulses for the companies and in some cases bring about
considerable increases in efficiency", explains Bartsch.

Prof. Dr. Dirk Schiereck also sees the advantages of a digitally
offensive company. The head of the Department of Corporate Finance at
the TU Darmstadt has observed that digitization projects have been
given ever greater leeway for years. "For a total of 72 percent of
the companies surveyed for the study, digitization has an important
or even very important significance in their current investment
plans," says the financing expert. "At the same time, more than
two-thirds of companies fear that financing could become a bottleneck
in the digitization of their companies. The figures are proof that
"banks have to provide targeted support to SMEs in these
cost-intensive investments in order to secure the long-term
competitiveness of the companies," explains Schiereck, who has been
accompanying the "Finanzierungsmonitor" scientifically since its
first edition in 2016.

In any case, more than one in four companies will need financing
this year in order to advance their digitization projects as desired.
According to the "Finanzierungsmonitor", a good third of retailers
are even dependent on borrowed capital. "Investment pressure will
remain high across all industries in the coming years," says
creditshelf-COO Bartsch. "The same applies, however, to the
opportunities for returns through digitization.

About the study "Finanzierungsmonitor 2019"

The study "Finanzierungsmonitor 2019" is based on a survey
conducted at the end of last year by creditshelf, a pioneer in the
field of digital SME financing in Germany (www.creditshelf.com). A
total of 200 decision-makers from small and medium-sized industrial,
commercial and service companies have taken part in the online survey
conducted by a market research institute. The study was
scientifically supervised by Prof. Dr. Dirk Schiereck, Head of the
Department of Corporate Finance at TU Darmstadt.

About creditshelf - www.creditshelf.com

creditshelf is a pioneer in the field of digital SME financing in
Germany arranging loans via its easy-to-use online platform
www.creditshelf.com . Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Frankfurt
am Main, creditshelf positions itself as a market and technology
leader in the fast-growing business of digital SME financing in
Germany. As a provider of SME finance, creditshelf has developed its
platform to meet the financing needs of German SME borrowers through
loans funded by investors interested in this asset class. In this
process, creditshelf offers to arrange loans enabling small and
medium-sized enterprises to access highly attractive financing
alternatives. At the same time, creditshelf offers professional
investors access to SME financing opportunities. The core
competencies of creditshelf include the selection of suitable credit
projects, the analysis of the creditworthiness of potential
borrowers, the provision of credit scoring as well as risk adjusted
loan pricing. creditshelf receives fees for its services from both
SME borrowers and investors.

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Further information:
creditshelf Aktiengesellschaft
Birgit Hass, Head of Marketing and Communication,
Mainzer Landstrasse 33a, 60329 Frankfurt
Tel.: +49 (69) 348 77 24-13
birgit.hass@creditshelf.com, www.creditshelf.com

Press and Public Relations:
Thöring & Stuhr Partnerschaft für Kommunikationsberatung
Arne Stuhr, Managing Director
Mittelweg 142, 20148 Hamburg
Tel: +49 (40 )207 6969 83, Mobile: +49 (177) 3055 194
arne.stuhr@corpnewsmedia.de

Investor Relations:
creditshelf Aktiengesellschaft
Fabian Brügmann, CFO Mainzer
Landstrasse 33a 60329 Frankfurt
Tel.: +49 (69) 348 77 24-27
ir@creditshelf.com, www.creditshelf.com

cometis AG
Maximilian Franz
Unter den Eichen 7, 65195 Wiesbaden
Tel: +49 (611) 20 58 55 22
franz@cometis.de, www.cometis.de

Original-Content von: creditshelf, übermittelt durch news aktuell