The document discusses alternative finance and crowdfunding in Europe. It notes that alternative finance grew from 3 billion euros in 2014 to 7 billion euros in 2015, with the UK as the leading country followed by the Netherlands, France, Germany and Sweden. It describes different types of alternative finance like peer-to-peer consumer lending, peer-to-peer business lending, and crowdfunding. It provides examples of large peer-to-peer lending platforms like LendingClub and discusses how crowdfunding can provide not just funding but also marketing, market research, and community building benefits.