IBM Corp. will provide $1 billion in financing over the next 18 months to credit-worthy small and medium businesses to help them acquire the company”™s new suite of advanced technologies.
Announcing the financing initiative Thursday, officials at IBM headquarters in Armonk said it is aimed at helping those businesses spur innovation and drive economic growth by making credit more easily accessible and eliminating many of the cost barriers to business growth.
They pointed to U.S. Small Business Administration reports that more than 50 percent of small businesses fail within their first five years due to lack of capital.
Accounting for nearly 65 percent of global gross domestic product, representing more than 90 percent of all businesses and employing more than 90 percent of the world”™s workforce, small and medium businesses “play a critical role in a global economic recovery,” IBM officials said.
IBM Global Financing will provide lease and loan packages with interest rates starting as low as zero percent for 12 months with no money down, allowing business owners to immediately acquire the IBM technology and services needed to transform their businesses while managing their cash flow more effectively. Clients will apply for credit and quickly receive online price proposals and loan approvals through IBM Business Partners.
With the financing initiative, IBM also is launching a comprehensive set of hardware and software solutions and services focused on technologies, such as cloud computing, analytics, collaboration and security, designed to address the needs of small and medium businesses. Those advanced technologies had been reserved for larger enterprises with large budgets.
