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762 European Entrepreneurshiprepayments are usually fixed, while in the case of a credit line, the borrowercan draw only part of the money at discretion up to an agreed maximumbalance, and interest is only charged on money actually withdrawn. A bankoverdraft is the negative balance on a bank account with or without specificpenalties. A credit card overdraft is a negative balance on a credit card thatexceeds the agreed credit limit.%u25aa Leasing or hire-purchase %u2013 obtaining the use of a fixed asset (for example,cars or machinery) in exchange for regular payments, but without theimmediate ownership of the asset.%u25aa Bank loans %u2013 both short and long-term bank loans are considered. Thedifference between a bank loan and a credit line is that in the case of a bankloan, the precise amount of loan and the dates of repayments are usuallyfixed, while in a credit line, the borrower can draw only part of the money atdiscretion up to an agreed maximum balance, and interest is charged only onmoney actually withdrawn.%u25aa Grants or subsidised bank loans %u2013 involving, for example, support frompublic sources in the form of guarantees or reduced interest rate loans.%u25aa Debt security issued %u2013 short-term commercial paper or longer-termcorporate bonds issued by the enterprise.%u25aa Other sources of financing %u2013 for example, subordinated debt instruments,participating loans, peer-to-peer lending, and crowdfunding. Subordinateddebt is only repayable after other debts have been satisfied. A participatingloan gives the lender the right to convert the loan into an ownership or equityinterest in the company under specified clauses and conditions. Peer-to-peerlending consists of lending money to an unrelated individual or enterprisewithout a traditional financial intermediary, usually via dedicated onlinelending portals. Crowdfunding involves raising monetary contributions from alarge number of people, typically via the internet.According to Suder and Lindeque (2018, p.274%u2013277), it is a %u201cwell-repeatedobservation that especially the continental EU Member States are often featuredby very well-established and active bank lending financing for SMEs%u201d. Debtfinancing via bank loans is also common for start-ups and smaller businesses.Venture capital (VC) and business angels serve as significant alternativefinancial sources in the EU. VC emerged in 1997 when the European InvestmentBank (EIB) began collaborating with the banking and financial sectors. By 2000,VC had established a strong foothold in Europe, parallelling the rise of internetas a key driver of business and innovation, both domestically and internationally.Today, VC investments are thriving and are a fundamental pillar of innovationin Europe.The European Investment Fund (EIF) promotes innovation in SMEs and