IBM Makes $4B in Financing Available for Small, Midsized Businesses

IBM announced today it’s providing IBM Business Partners worldwide with $4 billion in financing for 12 months. This financing available through IBM Global Financing, can make obtaining credit easier and more accessible. This initiative builds on the $1 billion in financing that IBM made available for small and midsize businesses in 2011, which resulted in 6,800 global companies using financing in just 12 months instead of the average 18 months.

IBM is setting out to address the need for capital by providing the right foundation and resources needed to support businesses and turn ideas into reality. IBM Global Financing will offer businesses simple, flexible lease and loan packages, some starting at as low as 0 percent for 12 months with no money down to credit-qualified clients. This will hopefully allow businesses to acquire the technology and services they need while managing their cash flow more effectively.

One example of a small business that benefited from IBM’s financing is Gracious Home, a New York-based retailer for luxury home décor, home furnishing and house wares. With over 300 employees, they needed to expand their IT infrastructure to support growing in-store and online customers. Gracious Home was able to work with IBM Business Partner VAI to create and deploy an analytics system to better understand what products their customers are purchasing, spot trends more effectively and increase sales.

Another example is Bishop Company who are based in Whittier, California and employ 15 employees to distribute tools and equipment for landscapers. Even with a network of authorized retailers across the country, Bishop Company was experiencing stagnating online sales due to the lagging economy. Wanting to create a strong online presence to meet the needs of a younger generation of shoppers, IBM connected them to Zobrist Consulting and provided financing. The online retailer was then able to create a site that has become the driving force in its businesses growth. The Bishop Company website is now a go-to destination for professional landscaper products. Since the launch of the site, Bishop Company online sales have increased by 200 percent, 75 percent of this increase consists of customer conversions from telephone to e-commerce ordering and 25 percent from new customers.

“Finding capital for a new business or idea is almost always challenging,” said Mark Hennesssy, GM of IBM Global Business Partners. “As a result the gap between a promising vision and a business reality appears to be even more of an unbridgeable chasm. With this effort, IBM aims to provide the right foundation and resources to our global partners and clients to ensure that businesses, large and small have access to the right technologies for success.”

Interested parties can learn more about IBM Business Partners from here