Crowd-funding expert Simon Deane-Johns, the co-founder of the world’s first peer-to-peer lender Zopa, has predicted the market for such lending to small businesses in Ireland could grow to €100 million in three years.

He said: “Based on what’s happening in Britain, this is easily achievable. Peer-to-business lending could, if anything, grow even faster in Ireland because of the greater sense of community between businesses and people here.”

Peer-to-business lending had grown from £21 million in 2011 to £193 million by
the end of 2013 in Britain, he said.

Peter O’Mahoney, chief executive of Irish person- to-business lender Linked Finance, said his firm had facilitated lending of €1.7 million to 57 businesses since it was founded last year.

“When we started we were doing two loans a week, now it is two loans a day and we’ve had zero defaults and zero late repayments so far,” he said.

Mr Deane-Johns and Mr O’Mahoney are due to speak to 100 business leaders this morning in Dublin.