• Does venture capital financing serve as a springboard?

VICO - Financing innovative entrepreneurial ventures in Europe

Investing in business start-ups is not without risk, but what does venture capital mean to a young company? Does it give them the chance to innovate, create jobs, grow and take on the competition? The European Union’s VICO project is seeking to find answers to these questions in seven European countries. In specific terms, young companies operating in medium- and high-tech sectors that have received venture capital financing within ten years of being set up will be observed throughout the entire financing period. The Belgian team, led by Prof. Sophie Manigart, has almost finished collecting quantitative data for the research project. For the qualitative part, selected companies will be sent a survey to complete. The project will be of interest to parties on both the supply and the demand sides of the market: it will be useful for investors to know which parameters have an impact on success, while businesses will benefit from knowing the added value of this financing.

VICO/EU research project

Title            

Financing entrepreneurial ventures in Europe: impact on innovation, employment growth and competitiveness

Period         

1 April 2008 – 31 March 2011

Info            

If you would like to be added to the mailing list to receive the research results, please send an e-mail to David Devigne: david.devigne@vlerick.be.