Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Studies ISSN (print): 2644-0490, ISSN (online): 2644-0504 Volume 5 Issue 07 July 2022 Article DOI: 10.47191/jefms/v5-i7-26, Impact Factor: 6.274 Page No. 2050-2059 JEFMS, Volume 5 Issue 07 July 2022 www.ijefm.co.in Page 2050 Traditional Financing Methods and Solidarity Finance: Perceptions of SMEs in the Fisheries Sector in the Region of Laayoune Sakia Elhamra Issam Izza 1 , Daida Boughantar 2 1,2 University of Sultan Moulay Slimane, Morocco ABSTRACT: The financing decision is one of the most important financial decisions of a company. This decision involves various financing methods among which companies in general and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular can make a choice for their financial needs. Our article aims to analyze the financing methods of Moroccan SMEs. To do this, a qualitative study through semi-structured interviews was conducted with a sample of thirty enterprises. We focused on SMEs in the fishing sector in the region of Laayoune Sakia Elhamra. We used the Nvivo analysis software to analyze our quotes. The results of our study allowed us to deduce the perceptions of the managers towards the different traditional financing methods and in particular the solidarity finance. KEYWORDS: Financing methods, SMEs, Perception, Solidarity finance. I. INTRODUCTION Around the world, the issue of small and medium-sized enterprises has become an important issue that plays a significant role in economic development in fostering growth, innovation and prosperity (OECD, 2006). SMEs have the potential to make a social and economic contribution by contributing significantly to job creation, income creation and as a catalyst for growth in urban and rural areas. Dalberg’s Global Development Advisors (2011) approach the issue of the SME sector, which is the backbone of the economy. In addition, the World Bank reports that the least developed economies have experienced deficiencies in the challenging macroeconomic and microeconomic environments; high budget deficits, unstable exchange rates, the legal environment, regulatory and administrative constitute barriers to access to finance for SMEs, particularly for medium- and long-term financing (World Bank, 2004). The International Finance Corporation (IFC, 2013), as part of the G-20 global partnership for financial inclusion, stresses that small and medium-sized enterprises are essential to job growth, but not all SMEs are equal in job creation. Their recent research covers key links between SMEs, jobs and access to finance, and shows that the financing gap for SMEs remains large, especially in emerging markets. In addition, Oyen and Gedi (2012) report that 70% of entrepreneurs did not receive training prior to starting their business; As a result, they have few business documents and management skills of a low level of professional association members, which means knowledge gaps in service providers due to lack of credit facilities. This leads to most SMEs depend on their own savings, trade credits and family or friends as sources of finance, and access to external finance is very limited. On the basis of this context, our research aims to analyze the questions of traditional financing methods and solidarity finance of SMEs: looking at the perceptions of financing arrangements by the head of the company and how SMEs are allocated to their activities when they do not have enough funds to manage them. To carry out our research, this paper is organized starting with an introduction, then we present in the first section the literature review relating to the characteristics and financing of SMEs, the different traditional financing methods for SMEs and solidarity finance as an alternative financing method. The second section presents the research methodology, and the third section is reserved for results and discussions, concluding with a conclusion.