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  • 2021
  • Chapter
  • Big Data in Small Business

Building Small Business Utopia: How Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Can Increase Small Business Success

By: Karen G. Mills and Annie Dang
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

Small business lending has remained unchanged for decades, laden with frictions and barriers that prevent many small businesses from accessing the capital they need to succeed. Financial technology, or “fintech,” promises to change this trajectory. In 2010, new fintech firms emerged to combat the market gaps in small business lending. These firms rely on Big Data and artificial intelligence to build automated underwriting processes and create a more streamlined customer experience. Since the initial fintech boom, incumbent banks and Big Tech platforms have followed suit and developed new products and services to better support small business customers. The data-driven technology used to optimize underwriting can also power a dashboard for small business owners—one that offers visibility into their cash flows and helps them run their businesses. This product-service ecosystem, which we call “Small Business Utopia,” has the potential to transform the world of small business by providing capital and insights to ensure these businesses can prosper and contribute to economic growth, productivity, and innovation.

Keywords

Big Data; Fintech; Artificial Intelligence; Small Business; Financing and Loans; Capital; Success; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science

Citation

Mills, Karen G., and Annie Dang. "Building Small Business Utopia: How Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Can Increase Small Business Success." In Big Data in Small Business, edited by Carsten Lund Pedersen, Adam Lindgreen, Thomas Ritter, and Torsten Ringberg. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021.
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About The Author

Karen Mills

General Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • February 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Doing Business in Casablanca, Morocco

    By: Karen G. Mills, Ahmed Dahawy and Choetsow Tenzin
    • 2024
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    Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream: How Technology Is Transforming Lending and Shaping a New Era of Small Business Opportunity

    By: Karen G. Mills
    • February 2024 (Revised February 2025)
    • Faculty Research

    Doing Business in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    By: Karen G. Mills, Allison H. Mnookin, Leonard A. Schlesinger, Shu Lin, Julianne Bliss and Morgane Herculano
More from the Authors
  • Doing Business in Casablanca, Morocco By: Karen G. Mills, Ahmed Dahawy and Choetsow Tenzin
  • Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream: How Technology Is Transforming Lending and Shaping a New Era of Small Business Opportunity By: Karen G. Mills
  • Doing Business in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam By: Karen G. Mills, Allison H. Mnookin, Leonard A. Schlesinger, Shu Lin, Julianne Bliss and Morgane Herculano
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