Small businesses in virtually all industrialized countries find it increasingly difficult to obtain finance from institutional sources. Banks have become more risk-averse; venture capital funds, previously of only marginal significance, are now often concentrating their investments on established companies; and management buyouts and buyins and pressures to reduce government spending have resulted in a reduction in public policy initiatives. In this context there is a growing interest in the role of the informal venture capital market as an alternative source of risk finance for small...

Small businesses in virtually all industrialized countries find it increasingly difficult to obtain finance from institutional sources. Banks have become more risk-averse; venture capital funds, previously of only marginal significance, are now often concentrating their investments on established companies; and management buyouts and buyins and pressures to reduce government spending have resulted in a reduction in public policy initiatives. In this context there is a growing interest in the role of the informal venture capital market as an alternative source of risk finance for small...