Today, the national promotional institutions of the five largest European economies (Bpifrance in France, British Business Bank in the UK, Cassa depositi e prestiti in Italy, Instituto de Credito Oficial in Spain and KfW in Germany) presented their joint study on the European venture capital market, making recommendations for boosting EU venture capital to the next level.
Access to venture capital is a key success factor for innovative, growth-oriented start-ups. This is why the study “Building Momentum in Venture Capital across Europe” was conducted jointly by the five national promotional institutions. It is based on available statistics and their expert knowledge of the single national markets.
“Since the beginning, National Promotional Institutions (NPIs) have been important actors in European VC markets, addressing market failure and helping the markets to emerge – and they will continue to do so”, pointed out the economists Edoardo Reviglio, Chief Economist of CDP Cassa depositi e prestiti (Italy); Philippe Mutricy, Chief Economist of Bpifrance; Blanca Navarro, Chief Economist of ICO Institute de Crédito Oficial (Spain); Jörg Zeuner, Chief Economist of KfW (Germany); and Matt Adey, Director of Economics of British Business Bank.
Contrasting the EU venture capital market as a whole with the single national VC markets and with the US benchmark, the study identifies four main areas where further actions are paramount: Increasing the supply of funds for VC investments, reducing the fragmentation within the European VC markets, increasing quantity and quality of demand for VC, and improving exit routes for VC investments. To build momentum in VC across Europe, activities in these fields are needed on both the EU as well as the national level.
The main findings of the study were presented during a joint lunch debate that brought together more than 100 participants including the European Association of Long Term Investors (ELTI), the European Investment Fund, Invest Europe and the University of Oxford.
The study is available here.