BankThink Fintech will reshape how entrepreneurs seek loans

Small businesses have been around since the time of early civilizations, and lending to small businesses is almost that old.The roots of traditional lending can be traced back to 3,000-year-old written loan contracts from Mesopotamia, which show the development of a credit system and include the concept ofinterest.These ancient records include a loan to one Dumuzi-gamil, a bread distributor in the Mesopotamian city of Ur, according to William Goetzmann in his book "Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible."Dumuzi-gamil and his partner borrowed 500 grams of silver from the businessman Shumi-abum, who appeared to be acting as a banker. Dumuzi-gamil became a prominent bread distributor within the region by operating institutional bakeries that supplied the temple. In fact, one tablet describes him as the "grain supplier to the King."