Does finance as usual work for circular economy transition? A financiers and SMEs qualitative approach

Transitioning to a circular economy (CE) particularly challenges small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and a deeper understanding of CE financial barriers is needed. We draw on SME and financiers’ views to qualitatively study the risks associated with CE, how such risks limit access to financial resources and how financial institutions perceive those risks. We find that transitioning to a circular economy entails regulatory, cultural and market risks and that CE business success does not depend solely on SME resources or capabilities. Contributions include combining business model perspectives with transition theories and showing that new circular business models entail major reforms to political, regulatory, and market structures, including financial markets. From a practical perspective, to accelerate CE transition, we recommend reducing fragmentation, uncertainty and incoherence in regulation of the remodeling of information and risk assessment systems and new co-financing mechanisms and alternative instruments such as blended finance or “circular finance.”