Publication: Can Venture Capital and Private Equity Work for You? Six Simple Steps to Guide SMEs in the Western Balkans
Loading...
Published
2020-04-02
ISSN
Date
2020-04-09
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Access to finance is ranked as one of the constraints on businesses in the Western Balkans region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). Across the region, up to 99 percent of enterprises are small or medium-sized (SMEs). SMEs are a primary source of economic growth, innovation, and most importantly, job creation in the region. To attract funding from investors and grow their businesses successfully entrepreneurs need the necessary skills to become investment ready. However, in the Western Balkans, entrepreneurs lack investment readiness for different reasons, including lack of knowledge about the availability of external sources of finance; hesitation to surrender partial ownership and control of their business; and lack of knowledge of how to sell their ideas to potential investors. This guide is targeted at SME owners and managers of SMEs in the Western Balkans who are interested in developing their businesses and are considering whether venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) could be an option.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Bacaj, Zana; Hirata Barros, Ana Cristina. 2020. Can Venture Capital and Private Equity Work for You? Six Simple Steps to Guide SMEs in the Western Balkans. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33560 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Private Equity and Venture Capital in SMEs in Developing Countries : The Role for Technical Assistance(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-04)This paper discusses the constraints for private equity financing of small and medium enterprises in developing economies. In addition to capital, private equity investors bring knowledge and expertise to the companies in which they invest. Through active participation on the board of directors or in partnership with management, private equity investors equip companies with critical improvements in governance, financial accounting, access to markets, technology, and other drivers of business success. Although private equity investors could help to create, deepen, and expand growth of small and medium enterprises in developing economies, the vast majority of private equity in such markets targets larger or more established enterprises. Technical assistance, when partnered with private equity, can unlock more investor commitments and considerably enhance the ability of small and medium enterprises in emerging markets to raise private equity capital. Technical assistance provides funding that allows private equity funds to extend their reach to smaller companies. Technical assistance can mitigate some level of risk and increase the probability of successful investments by funding targeted operational improvements of investee companies. Dedicated technical assistance facilities financed by third parties, such as development finance institutions, governments, or other parties, have emerged to fill this critical need. The paper discusses the provision of investment capital twinned with technical assistance, which is now more accepted by limited partners and general partners or fund managers and is becoming more of a market model for private equity finance focused on small and medium enterprises.Publication Supporting Innovation in SMEs in Lebanon through a Public/Private Equity Fund : The iSME Fund(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-02)Lebanon is a typical example of a country where the banking sector is stable with high levels of liquidity, and where the government has put in place various incentive mechanisms and programs to encourage lending for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These include subsidized interest payments, exemptions on compulsory reserves on creditors, and a credit guarantee program-yet lending still largely remains confined to large firms. Lebanese start-ups suffer from three substantial gaps in their country's financial environment: 1) funding at the early concept stage where entrepreneurs need to develop their ideas into a viable concept and product; 2) early stage seed funding needed when starting a company; and 3) absence of venture finance needed for the firm to reach its growth stage and beyond. The project's main component comprises an innovation in SMEs funding program (the iSME fund). The iSME fund will provide two sources of financing: US$2.5 million for Concept Development Grants (CDGs); and US$25 million for equity investment in seed, early/venture, and growth stage firms. The remaining project amount will support project management, strategic training activities, marketing, and outreach to the business community, venture capital partners, the diaspora and community at large to promote the project and the fund's beneficiary entrepreneurs.Publication Accounting for Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean : Improving Corporate Financial Reporting to Support Regional Economic Development(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2010)In the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, as in the rest of the world, reliable financial information is the cornerstone of a robust market economy and efficient public sector. This book presents both an analysis of the broader trends derived from the individual country-level studies produced under the Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) Accounting and Auditing (A&A) program and a synthesis of lessons learned from the Bank's experiences working with policy makers and other stakeholders to implement the ROSC A&A recommendations. This first chapter introduces the book by showing how sound A&A practices in the private and public sectors contribute to LAC development agenda, and by describing the regional economic context. It then presents three case studies of successful financial reporting and auditing reforms within LAC, showing how these reforms have benefited the countries. It describes drivers of reform that have led some countries to adopt global standards of good A&A practice and others to take a more conservative, wait and see approach. Finally, the chapter describes the objectives and methodology of this study, and the structure of the book.Publication Ghana Private Equity and Venture Capital Ecosystem Study(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-10)This paper discusses the landscape for private equity and venture capital financing in Ghana. It provides an overview of the private equity and venture capital market in the country, describing key players, including funds, fund managers, investors, and public sector entities. The paper provides an analysis of key market drivers and impediments, as well as legal, regulatory, and taxation drivers and impediments that affect Ghana’s private equity and venture capital industry.Publication Ghana Private Equity and Venture Capital Ecosystem Study(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-06)Private equity/venture capital was introduced in Ghana in 1991. In conjunction with this entry of a new asset class, the Government of Ghana (GoG) created a legal/ regulatory framework for VC funds in the early 1990s, regulated by the Bank of Ghana. In late 1991, USAID sponsored a venture capital fund in Ghana, along with the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC). The initiative set up two companies, a non-bank finance company to hold the funds, the Ghana Venture Capital Fund (GVCF), and a separate management company, Venture Fund Management Company (VFMC), to make the investments. This initiative created the impetus for legal/regulatory framework for venture capital funds which was defined by the Financial Institutions (Non- Banking) Law of 1993, and “Draft Operating Guidelines for Venture Capital Funding Companies” which were published by the Bank of Ghana in 1995. Ghana is generally touted as an attractive investment destination on the continent because of its stable government and relatively strong business environment. However, there are also some market impediments specific to private equity/venture capital in Ghana. The country’s strong business environment is reflected in its ranking of 70th out of 189 countries in the 2015 World Bank Doing Business Study, above both Kenya (136) and Nigeria (170). However, Treasury bill rates in Ghana have been around 25 percent (91-day and 182-day), making it harder to justify investment in riskier and more illiquid alternative assets by domestic institutional investors. There has been significant depreciation (approximately 75 percent) in the Ghana cedi since the currency was redenominated in 2007 after the significant loss of value of the Second Cedi, which was advanced in 1967. This depreciation in the Ghana cedi has made business fundamentals unsupportive for investment. The objective of this study is to assess the private equity/venture capital (PE/VC) ecosystem in Ghana and to provide recommendations aimed at fostering a robust private equity and venture capital environment that can provide risk financing for competitive small and medium enterprises (SMEs). PE/VC firms are investment managers that mobilize fixed pools of capital to invest in a variety of companies, often across many industries. These firms typically comb the market for high potential investment opportunities through their network of intermediaries, and by developing business linkages and competencies in specific sectors. Apart from providing financing, PE/VC funds tend to take a “capital plus” approach, in that they help the companies in their portfolios to enhance management capacity, improve market focus and presence, strengthen governance, and manage growth. Although PE investment styles may vary considerably, many firms seek financial returns by supporting and financing the growth of the companies in their portfolios. As such, these firms are widely linked to job creation.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Egypt Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11-08)This Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores the challenges and opportunities of improving the alignment of Egypt’s development goals with its climate ambition. The CCDR offers a set of policy options and investment opportunities that, if implemented within five years, can deliver short-term benefits in selected sectors while also creating momentum toward important long-term benefits. The options identified in this report provide: Cost-effective adaptation approaches to reduce the negative impacts of climate change; Policy interventions to improve efficiency in the use of natural resources, and complement the creation of fiscal space to finance projects that reduce the vulnerability of people and the economy to climate shocks; Actions that can help avoid carbon lock-in through low-cost policy changes; Interventions to strengthen the country’s competitiveness while reducing negative externalities (such as pollution) and incentivize Egypt’s move towards a low carbon growth path in a manner consistent with its development objectives. Overall, the report identifies opportunities to reduce inefficiencies, manage risk, and strengthen the foundation for increased private sector participation.Publication World Bank Annual Report 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-25)This annual report, which covers the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, has been prepared by the Executive Directors of both the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA)—collectively known as the World Bank—in accordance with the respective bylaws of the two institutions. Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, has submitted this report, together with the accompanying administrative budgets and audited financial statements, to the Board of Governors.Publication Africa’s Resource Future(Washington DC : World Bank, 2023-04-03)This book examines the role for natural resource wealth in driving Africa’s economic transformation and the implications of the low-carbon transition for resource-rich economies. Resource wealth remains central to most Sub-Saharan African economies, and significant untapped potential is in the ground. Subsoil assets—such as metals, minerals, oil, and gas—are key sources of government revenues, export earnings, and development potential in most countries in the Africa region. Despite large reserves, success in converting subsoil wealth into aboveground sustainable prosperity has been limited. Since the decline in commodity prices in 2014, resource-rich Africa has grown more slowly than the region’s average growth rate. Finding ways to more effectively harness natural resource wealth to drive economic transformation will be central to Africa’s economic future. As the world moves away from fossil fuels in alignment with commitments under the Paris Agreement, Africa’s resource-rich countries face new risks and opportunities. Recent estimates suggest that 80 percent of the world’s proven fossil fuel reserves must remain underground to meet the Paris targets, and much of these stranded reserves may be in Africa. This issue of stranded assets and, relatedly, “stranded nations,” has major implications for the many African economies that are dependent on petroleum extraction and export. On the other hand, the energy transition will increase demand for raw material inputs involved in clean energy technologies. The transition from fossil fuels to clean energy may create demand by 2050 for 3 billion tons of minerals and metals that are needed to deploy solar, wind, and geothermal energy. How can African economies tap into these opportunities while managing the downside risk to their fossil fuel wealth? "Africa’s Resource Future" explores these themes and offers policy makers insights to help them navigate the coming years of uncertainty.