inbizvest joins forces with Zopa to provide funding of up to £15,000 for entrepreneurs. Zopa is a marketplace where people lend and borrow money to and from each other, sidestepping the banks. It's like borrowing and lending with your friends and family - except there are thousands of people you can lend and borrow with.

Both lenders and borrowers get better rates, because Social Lending is more efficient than the traditional banking model. Banks have massive overheads, with thousands of employees to pay and hundreds of branches to maintain. So they have to take large margins on the money that passes through them.

Simon Jenner, chief entrepreneur for inbizvest said "This is an ideal way for entrepreneurs to find small amounts of funding without having to give away any equity. Signing up with Zopa for a loan is a great way of bootstrapping a new business."

Inbizvest have today announced the launch of their new website www.inbizvest.com which brings together entrepreneurs and investors to meet and do business in a Dragons’ Den style arena. Yet more than just an online version of an old idea, inbizvest looks set to radically change the way small businesses and start-ups go about sourcing investment.

Each year over 300,000 businesses are denied funding because of banks’ rigid and some would say outdated lending criteria. Inbizvest’s Chief Entrepreneur Simon Jenner says, “banks have always acted as the middlemen between investors and business, but we don’t think they do a particularly good job. So we’re looking to cut out the middle-man and connect those people with the right experience and financial backing directly with businesses that need those assets.”

But it’s not just about the money. Investors’ knowledge and know-how can be just as valuable as their cash, and many growing firms that are sailing into uncharted waters will welcome an experienced hand on the tiller.

Inbizvest also hope to introduce a new type of investor to the world of small business. By making the whole process of investment more transparent and more accessible, they’re looking to remove the mystery and myth that surrounds the investment business. And by doing that they hope to attract a wave of new players into the sector, bringing the thrill of investment to people who wouldn’t normally consider getting involved in financing small business.

inbizvest goes into official beta testing. Our web development team are working overtime to fix the bugs and incorporate new features. If you have any feedback then it would be greatly received.

Keep watching this space because we have lots of new features planned over the next quarter.