Answers to frequently asked questions about alternative industrial financing

Soka Finance is a consulting company specialized in alternative financing for European industrial companies. We support manufacturers in structuring and obtaining complex financing when traditional banking solutions are not suitable or insufficient.

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A broker seeks the best possible bank financing terms, and deals mainly with standard files. Soka Finance structures solutions with specialized funders, by working on the financial package as well as the choice of partners and the rates. Thanks to its expertise in structuring, Soka Finance manages to obtain financing that is perfectly adapted to the needs of manufacturers and not only traditional standard financing.

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Banks mainly finance standard, low-risk and highly supervised projects. Soka Finance intervenes where the bank cannot intervene: specific assets, innovation, international transactions, as-a-service models, complex or atypical needs.

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Banks are not the only players in financing. Alternative financing includes all non-bank financing solutions: debt funds, infrastructure funds, family offices, private investors, rental companies, etc.

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Because each alternative funder is very specialized (type of assets, ticket size, risk level). Our role is to translate an industrial project into a file that is legible, credible and fundable for these actors.

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No Some manufacturers know from the start that bank financing is not suitable for their project and call directly on Soka Finance to structure a more flexible solution and save time.

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Yes. We finance complex industrial equipment: machine tools, production lines, production lines, transport equipment, specialized industrial assets, in France, Europe and internationally.

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Yes. We support manufacturers who wish to offer their equipment for rent, subscription, pay-per-use or as-a-service, by structuring asset financing via multiple financing solutions: via dedicated vehicles, or through Vendor Program partnerships.
Soka Finance is a long-term partner for manufacturers and suppliers of Equipment as a Service offerings.

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Yes. We support industrial companies in their organic or external growth projects: capacity increase, international deployment, industrialization, acquisition, financial structuring linked to a change of scale.

Yes, in a specific industrial context. We intervene when the financial structure needs to be adapted: refinancing assets, refinancing inventories, reorganizing debts, optimizing the balance sheet, always with a logic of operational continuity.

Yes. We structure inventory financing solutions (raw materials, semi-finished or finished products) in order to free up cash without penalizing operations, including when banks refuse this type of financing.

Yes.

Our tailor-made approach allows us to analyze and finance the value of all industrial assets, new or used.

For a single request, we finance applications starting from 500 K EUR, and up to 50 m EUR.

For a long-term financing program, or Vendor Program starting from 10 million EUR and with no maximum limit.

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The range of rates we work with is very broad. We use a multitude of funders, some of them can offer very low bank-level rates (3% for example), others offer considerable flexibility and risk sharing and require higher remuneration (15% for example).

We can offer all types of financing terms. Thanks to the diversity of partner funders, we can find bridge financing solutions for a few months, inventory financing for 12 months, and infrastructure financing over 10 years.

Under comparable conditions, we will always encourage our customers to take the cheapest offer. But comparing two financing offers is more than just comparing interest rates.

A more expensive financing offer can also offer more flexibility, a longer term, a more advantageous amortization profile, and require fewer guarantees, for example.

The speed of financing may also justify a higher rate.

Our support takes place in three stages:

1. Qualification and structuring of the need
2. Assembling the financial file
3. Targeted networking with suitable funders

We support our customers until financing is actually obtained.

On average:

• 4 to 8 weeks for standard files
• More for complex or multi-active assemblies

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After an initial contact and a presentation of your financing needs, if we determine that our support is appropriate, we sign a support mandate.

Soka Finance is mostly paid for success, that is to say in the event that financing is actually obtained. This ensures that our interests are fully aligned with those of our customers.

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Depending on the nature and complexity of the project, part of the support may include fixed costs (long consulting, structuring, specific analyses), which are always defined transparently at the outset.

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No We select projects based on:

• the quality of the asset,
• economic viability,
• the coherence of the risk/return couple.

This requirement is essential to maintain our credibility with funders.

With a few questions, Soka Finance can assess the feasibility of your project. 👉 You can test your eligibility directly online or contact us for a first exchange.

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Yes. To guarantee the effectiveness, credibility of the file and the coherence of exchanges with funders, Soka Finance's support is based on an exclusivity agreement.

In concrete terms, this means that the company entrusts the research and structuring of its financing to Soka Finance only, for the duration of the mission.

This exclusivity is essential for:

• avoid the multiplication of contradictory messages to funders,
• Preserve the credibility of the project,
• Maximize the chances of success.

In return, Soka Finance is fully committed to its clients, with a tailor-made approach and remuneration that is mostly in line with the success of financing.

Because:

• we deeply understand industrial challenges,
• we come from the world of alternative finance,
• we structure financing worth several million euros,
• we work on complex projects where traditional solutions fail.