Peer-to-peer lender Linked Finance almost doubled the value of loans it issued in 2021 compared to the previous year.
Total lending of over €36 million was up 80% on 2020 levels, it reported.
The total value of loans to companies in the construction sector was up 87% on 2020 while the professional service sector saw an increase of 65% in the year.
The company was granted approval last year as a lender under the Government's Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme.
Publishing its latest SME Confidence Index today, Linked Finance reported that almost two thirds of small and medium sized businesses that it surveyed were finding it difficult to access credit which it believes will create a barrier to economic recovery.
Over 350 SMEs were surveyed nationally by Behaviour and Attitudes for the report.
Around one in five said they believed the impending departure of Ulster Bank and KBC from the market would render the credit environment 'very difficult'.
Just over 40% said it would make it 'somewhat difficult'.
Despite concerns about the availability of credit, the latest Index showed Business Optimism at a level of 67.9 - out of 100. That was up from 49.5 a year ago.
The latest outcome was close to the all-time high of 69.1 recorded in the summer of 2018.
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Given that companies were surveyed prior to the Government's easing of restrictions on 21st January, a further improvement in sentiment could be expected in the report for the first quarter of this year.
However, price inflation could be a potential barrier to growth with around a third of companies saying they were already charging higher prices at the end of last year.
The most recent figures from the CSO show consumer price inflation running at around 5.5%, the highest level in two decades.
"Business optimism is now returning to pre-pandemic levels while the operations issues such as hiring new staff and inflation pressure continue, accessing finance in a market being dominated by only three traditional players does not make for a competitive marketplace," Niall O'Grady, CEO of Linked Finance said.
"Access to credit is the lifeblood of any fast-growing SME and the latest Index findings indicate that many businesses are facing challenges borrowing money," he added.
Mr O'Grady welcomed the recent announcement of plans by the Central Bank to introduce a regulatory framework for peer-to-peer lending as a positive development that would provide 'long overdue reassurance' for lenders and borrowers.
