Tag Archives: Investment

Farming, News

SecAnim unveils state-of-the-art animal by-product processing facility

SecAnim, the UK’s leading provider of safe and secure collection and disposal services to the farming and meat production sectors, has unveiled an all-new Category 1 animal by-product processing facility at its pioneering renewable energy and recycling site in Widnes, Cheshire. The world-first operation completes a two-stage site regeneration plan, supported by a capital investment of more than £15 million.

Set to be commissioned in October 2020, the Shepherdson High Efficiency Plant (SHEP) will turn raw material into high-quality tallow and meat and bone meal. The tallow will be used as a core ingredient for the production of biodiesel, by companies such as SecAnim’s sister company ecoMotion, while the meat and bone meal will provide fuel for the site’s combined heat and power (CHP) biomass plant.

At the heart of the SHEP development is a highly advanced primary processing plant, which harnesses the latest advancements in low-temperature drying technology to maximise operational efficiencies. Designed to minimise environmental impact, the facility uses significantly less energy than the operation it replaces and is powered entirely by renewable electricity generated through the Category 1 animal by-product (ABP) rendering process. The plant harnesses state-of-the-art automation and health and safety processes (including gas detection and operator protection measures), while also setting the standards in odour elimination technology.

Operating alongside the site’s existing ReFood anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, SARVAL Category 3 rendering facility and bubbling fluidised bed (BFB) power plant, the SHEP development will complete the Widnes site’s pioneering operations, which will collectively provide the world’s first fully-integrated solution for protein manufacturing, biomass recycling and renewable energy production – harnessing next-generation technologies to maximise the value in by-products arising from across the food chain.

Heat required for the SHEP’s operations will be provided by the on-site biomass CHP plant, supported by biomethane from the ReFood AD plant. Effluent will be treated on-site, in line with the latest environmental standards, while the CHP plant will also be used to eliminate odours from the SHEP facility, rather than relying on chemical treatment.

Collectively, the plants will also provide a recycling outlet for the disposal of bioliquids, as well as producing two arable fertilisers (Kalfos, a dry phosphate product; and ReGrow, a PAS110 liquid biofertiliser) – a completely integrated, closed-loop solution for the UK’s food supply chain.

Philip Simpson, commercial director at SARIA – parent company of SecAnim, SARVAL and ReFood, commented: “Our Widnes operation has provided safe and secure animal by-product processing services since the 1930s. The site has long-since featured in the UK National Animal Disease Control and Eradication plans.

“We are delighted to unveil the culmination of our redevelopment programme, which creates a completely unique, fully-integrated, state-of-the-art solution for by-products arising from the food chain and represents a total recent SARIA investment at Widnes of almost £50 million. Forming an integrated unit together with the SARVAL, and ReFood plants, as well as the BFB, the SHEP facility sets the standards in capability, efficiency and sustainability – no other single operation in the UK can offer similar facilities or deliver similar benefits.”

The new development consolidates SecAnim’s Category 1 national processing infrastructure into a single, integrated site. As part of this programme, the company has announced that its Exeter facility will close later this year. ABP collection services across the South West will be unaffected, thanks to existing facilities in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset.

For more information about the Widnes site, or to find out about its protein manufacturing, biomass recycling and renewable energy production capabilities, visit https://www.saria.co.uk.

News

Self-centred societies are more likely to embrace crowdfunding, says new research

Societies with characteristics, such as widespread individualism are more likely to embrace crowdfunding as means of investing and financing, says new research from Trinity Business School.

According to the research, undertaken by Francesca Di Pietro, Assistant Professor in Business Strategy at Trinity, a country’s institutional characteristics will significantly impact the likelihood of that society creating new business ventures.

With crowdfunding being an increasingly popular means of financing new ventures, Di Pietro focused specifically on how a society’s characteristics would impact crowdfunding.
Di Pietro undertook a study which analysed the influence of both formal and informal institutions in 27 different countries during between 2014 and 2017. Formal institutions are political, economic and contractual rules that shape individual behaviour, while informal institutions refer to values, beliefs and behavioural norms within a country.

She found that societies that were more individualistic had higher levels of crowdfunding. Alongside this, Di Pietro’s research found that countries with a more business-friendly legal system were more likely to embrace all forms of crowdfunding.

Surprisingly, the research also found that communities who are more risk-adverse were more likely to invest in ‘lending-based crowdfunding’ opportunities – in which those who invest expect to recoup their investment, plus interest, after the lending period is up – suggesting that it could be seen as a safer investment.

The research revealed that China has the world’s largest crowdfunding market, driven especially by widespread lending-based crowdfunding. Meanwhile, the US and UK has the second and third largest crowdfunding markets.

Dr Francesca Di Pietro, Assistant Professor in Business Strategy at Trinity Business School, says:
“Covid-19 had a severe impact upon financial markets, forced small businesses and entrepreneurs to rethink their business model and look for alternative forms of financing. This research is useful in identifying where crowdfunding is most likely to be successful for these entrepreneurs.”

Business Investment, News

Envestors raises £2m to create digital marketplace for UK start-ups and investors

Envestors has announced it has secured £2m in funding to grow its digital marketplace for start-up investment. The marketplace, powered by Envestors’ white-label investment platform Envestry, facilitates the investment process for all parties, making it easier for start-ups to raise investment and for investors to build diverse portfolios.

Partnering with networks, accelerators and incubators, Envestors provides a branded site where they can engage investors, promote deals and uniquely connect to other networks.

The Envestry platform already has a number of customers including: SetSquared, the number one global incubator, a collaboration between the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey; Bristol-based network Plerith; soon-to-launch OBN Ventures, the life sciences membership organisation; and Prospedia Capital which focuses on advanced automotive technologies.

This new investment will be used to:

• Grow the network of partners using Envestry, including accelerators, incubators, universities, angel networks and larger enterprise clients.
• Enhance the platform, building on ‘smart matching’ functionality
• Develop Envestors’ investment readiness services, to help start-ups increase their chances of raising capital

Currently the investment space is fragmented, with lots of different organisations involved in matching start-ups with investment. They are all doing a great job, but they are disconnected, each having to reinvent its own wheel, and each serving a niche based on region, sector, stage or affiliation (e.g. universities, membership bodies, events companies).

This means start-ups have to do a lot of leg work to get in front of investors and investors themselves typically have to join half a dozen networks to get access to enough investment opportunities to build their portfolio.

There is no one place to go to find investment or to find investment opportunities – and there needs to be. With a single, central place, we can help start-ups thrive and investors get access to the best deals.

The industry has also been slow to adopt digital, with many feeling that face-to-face meetings and pitching events are the best way forward. But behaviours have shifted in the last ten years to the point where that argument doesn’t hold water. All purchasing decisions, whether you’re buying a pair of jeans, a new car or building your investment portfolio, start online with browsing and initial research.

Envestors aims to solve these challenges by creating the single marketplace for start-up investment in the UK.

By using its proven software platform, Envestry, to connect the industry, Envestors will empower all the organisations involved in arranging investment, as well as the entrepreneurs and investors themselves.

Our approach is unique in that we aim to connect up existing players, who play a fundamental role in matching start-ups and investors, rather than trying to replace them.

The Envestry digital platform facilitates investment through: investor self-certification; deal browsing/searching/tracking (think following); due diligence online; portfolio management from a single place; deal promotion; analytics to see how many investors are engaging with your deal; and providing FCA cover.

In-built FCA compliance is a core feature to the platform. Many players in this space are unaware that arranging deals is a regulated activity and that they are breaking the law every time they hold a pitch event.

However, the most exciting feature – the game changer – is deal sharing. Closed networks can have their own platform that they control. They can then opt to share certain deals, and not others, with other networks. For example, a clean tech network in Scotland may decide to showcase a green deal from a female founder network in Bristol. This way early stage companies reach a wider pool of investors, and investors have a greater choice of deals.

“SidebySide’s ethos, as our name implies, is to invest in companies and provide strategic input to help them grow. This is a new fund and Envestors is one of our first investments. We’ve known Envestors for a number of years and are equally as passionate about creating a single marketplace for early stage companies and investors. It’s precisely what the industry needs. Envestors has already proven itself on a small scale. I look forward to seeing them do much more on a much bigger scale,” says John Bailye, Managing Director, the SidebySide Partnership

“Without platforms such as Envestors we would not have been able to the raise the £15m required to expand our business. The 51 private investors who invested under the EIS through Envestors shared a profit of £48m when we sold the company to BP – proof the model works,” says David Martell, Founder of Chargemaster.

Roderick Beer, Managing Director of the UK Business Angel Association (UKBAA) said, “connecting the angel ecosystem is one of our primary goals as an organisation and we’re fully supportive of Envestors, who are a long-standing member, in bringing together regional and sector specific angel communities.”

 

HR News, News

Workhuman announces new strategic investor; continues strong growth trajectory in 1H 2020

Workhuman®, the world’s fastest-growing social recognition and continuous performance management platform, has announced that London-based alternative asset manager Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) has become an investor in the organisation, as part of its European investment strategy, acquiring a minority stake in the company from existing shareholders. Morgan Stanley acted as exclusive financial advisor to Workhuman in a highly competitive process. The transaction values Workhuman at $1.2 billion.

In the first half of 2020, Workhuman has furthered its mission of unlocking the business impact of human connection in the workplace, particularly as many organisations have instituted work-from-home protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest version of Workhuman’s suite of human applications adds new technology innovations and introduced Moodtracker™, an always-free voice of employee solution that focuses on making real changes within organisations. In addition, Workhuman began offering special editions of two of its Workhuman Cloud products – Life Events® and Conversations® – free for any organisation to use through March 2021. In the first half of the year, more than 300,000 employees have started taking advantage of Workhuman’s Social Recognition and Life Events offerings.

“We are excited to welcome ICG as a strategic investor, while providing liquidity to some of Workhuman’s earliest supporters,” said Eric Mosley, Workhuman co-founder and CEO. “ICG’s support helps put us on a great path forward as we get ready for the next phase of Workhuman’s growth. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we all need human connection. Our continued double-digit growth and ongoing business momentum is a sign that organisations are craving a way to build better relationships and foster trust with their employees, no matter where they are.”

“Workhuman is a truly unique HR platform provider that we are excited to be in partnership with,” said Benoit Durteste, CIO and CEO of ICG. “The business’s historic performance is testament to the results it delivers for clients and their employees, reaching organisations in more than 160 countries. In the past couple years, and even more so as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations have begun to realise the power and value of their people and have been forced to innovate and thrive in new ways. Workhuman provides them with progressive tools to understand, engage with and better utilise their employees in ways they never could before.”

As part of Workhuman’s strategy to drive growth, three accomplished executives have recently joined the company’s leadership team. Chris DeMeo, formerly of Staples, took the role of VP of customer marketing; Dr. Patti Fletcher, who comes from SAP SuccessFactors, joins as VP of brand marketing; and Jason Griggs, previously at Workday, takes the reins as SVP of global sales.

For more information about Workhuman, please visit www.workhuman.com.

FInance, News

Medicinal cannabis company Eco Equity undertakes second round of funding raise with £10.2m convertible loan notes offer

Medicinal cannabis firm Eco Equity has announced it has begun the second round of funding for its cultivation project in Zimbabwe. The firm is also introducing a convertible loan note instrument to investors offering 15% interest per annum in order to achieve its funding target.

After achieving its objective of raising £8.1m during the first round of funding, the company has stated its objective of raising £10.2m during the second round.

The convertible loan note is available to individuals who qualify as high net worth individuals, as well as Family Office, institutional, professional and sophisticated Investors. The loan note is also available to high net worth companies and institutions.

The loan notes shall not be redeemable and shall automatically be converted into ordinary shares in the company. The loan notes have a mandatory conversion date of 36 months from the date of the issue. The interest of 15% shall be paid annually.

Eco Equity is the first company to hold a medicinal cannabis licence in Zimbabwe and is on track to replicate the model in Antigua after positive talks between Eco Equity and the government.

Jon-Paul Doran, CEO of Eco Equity, said: “Launched two years ago, Eco Equity is cultivating and exporting from Zimbabwe as well as providing dispensary locations in Antigua. The convertible loan note instrument we are launching with a 15% return delivers on our commitment to ensuring maximum returns for our investors.

“Medicinal cannabis has proved itself to be one of the more resilient industries during the coronavirus pandemic. Having begun cultivation in Zimbabwe, we are looking forward to the next stages throughout the rest of 2020 and into 2021 as the market goes from strength to strength.”

The proceeds from the loan notes will be utilised to continue the advancement of the company’s project in Zimbabwe. Eco Equity will use the funds to obtain extraction equipment, refining equipment, and the completion of three green-housing facilities, seeds and working capital.

Eco Equity is based in London and is the pharmaceutical arm of investment vehicle JPD Capital. Eco Equity has operations in Zimbabwe with advanced plans to enter the Antiguan market. Eco Equity secured one of five licences to cultivate cannabis for medicinal purposes in Zimbabwe in late 2018. Cultivation was due to start as scheduled in the second quarter of 2020, however coronavirus has delayed that until the end of Q4 2020.

FInance, Technology

Shropshire Immersive Technology Firm Raises an Additional £435,000 under EIS

Igloo Vision, the Shropshire-based immersive technology company, has raised an additional £435,000 in funding under the UK Government’s Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).

Igloo creates immersive projection spaces, such as domes, cylinders, cubes, and immersive workspaces. Igloo’s technology can display any 360° or Virtual Reality (VR) content. And, because entire teams can get inside the immersive spaces and engage with the content, the technology is well-suited to training, simulation, and visualisation, as well as events and experiences.

The latest fundraising round, which closed on 5 April 2020, secured investment from several sources. The largest proportion, at £200,000, came from the London-headquartered financial services firm and asset manager Mariana UFP LLP under its Growth EIS Fund. The remaining £235,000 was secured from Igloo’s existing Midlands-based investors, including Frontier Development Capital and the Midven-managed Greater Birmingham EIS.

Igloo CEO Dennis Wright said:

“The fact that we were able to secure the investment in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis demonstrates the strength of the Igloo proposition. Our investors were particularly impressed by how we continued to get the Igloo message out, develop our solutions, and sign-up new business. As the crisis recedes, we will be in a strong position to resume our growth story.”

The investment will help the company to build out its existing software suite and refine its product range. For example, earlier in 2020, Igloo unveiled a new immersive workspace concept, which enables clients to retrofit Igloo technology into existing meeting rooms. Similarly, in response to the Coronavirus crisis, Igloo has developed a range of immersive video conferencing techniques, to help remotely-located project teams collaborate more effectively. The new funds will help Igloo to productise both of these solutions.

Igloo’s previous funding round closed in May 2019, when Frontier Development Capital invested £1 million in Igloo. Since then, the company valuation has seen an uplift of 75%, staff numbers have grown from 50 to 80, the business has opened new demonstration centres in both Manhattan and Central London, it has entered into a partnership with the world’s largest AV systems integrator, and has added several new clients to its roster, including WarnerMedia, NTT, Automobili Pininfarina, and Telstra.

“What makes me happiest of all about the announcement is its symbolic value to the Igloo team,” concludes Dennis Wright. “Our people are working incredibly hard to keep the company on track through the crisis, and this investment stands out as an important vote of confidence.”

Business Research

Investing abroad? Take advice from immigrants, says University

Taking advice from immigrants has a positive effect on outward foreign investment because, given the right circumstances, immigrants can provide companies in their host country with key information about their home countries, according to new research by Vienna University of Economics and Business.

The research, conducted by Professor Jonas Puck, Vera Kunczer and Thomas Lindner, reveals that knowledge about circumstances in target countries is key in international investment decisions.

The study argues that immigrants usually have a comprehensive understanding of the language, economics, culture, political systems, and the business practices of their home countries, than citizens of the host country.

As a result, companies can improve their familiarity with international markets based on immigrants’ first-hand market knowledge and social ties to their respective home countries, regardless of whether the immigrants are employed by the companies.

Immigrants can contribute to companies’ knowledge indirectly by interacting with other people in the host country. This leads to knowledge flows between different markets that go beyond the mere employment of immigrants in the host country.

“A firm located where immigrants move can use the immigrants’ knowledge to reduce barriers to the markets in the immigrants’ home countries. This, in turn, reduces a company’s uncertainty, which results in the country being more attractive to a firm seeking to establish operations abroad,” says Professor Puck.

However, the effect of immigrants’ knowledge on the resources a company commits to operations abroad depends on two key factors: the stability of the political framework in the country of origin and the attitudes towards immigration in the host country.

“The information provided by the immigrants can be negatively influenced by policy instability in their home country, because immigrants’ knowledge about their home country may no longer be accurate if the situation is unstable there. Furthermore, if anti-immigrant sentiment is prevalent in the host country, companies may be less likely to listen to the information and advice provided by immigrants,” says Professor Puck.

The research was supported by data from Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) and uses a data set based on more than 13,000 observations made over a 14-year period and was published in the Journal of International Business Policy.

Business Investment, News

Tech leads but stunning rise in interest for sustainable businesses, finds Angel Investment Network report

Angel Investment Network (AIN), the UK’s largest online angel investment platform, has revealed its latest ‘State of the Angel Investment Nation’ findings. It is based on the data of more than 100,000 UK registered businesses looking for funding and 30,000 investors.

‘Technology’ was the top search term used in 2019, based on investor keyword searches. This was followed by ‘property’ with ‘mobile’ the third most popular. ‘Robotics’ climbed six places year on year to now be the fourth most requested search term. Meanwhile ‘electronics’ is up by nine places on the list to number six.

With climate change centre stage in Davos last week, there also has been a stunning rise in interest for sustainable businesses. Searches for ‘Renewables’ have rocketed by 34 places to be the 14th most searched for term. Meanwhile ‘greentech’, unheard of even a couple of years ago, is now the 19th most popular keyword, up from 47th last year. Environmental leapt 56 places up the rankings to be the 25th most searched for term.

For entrepreneurs, property is the most popular sector for pitch ideas. Entertainment and leisure is the second, followed by technology. Overall there were 10% more pitches over the past 12 months from startups looking to attract investors.

According to AIN co-founder Mike Lebus:

“Startups are the lifeblood of the UK economy and despite a turbulent year politically, there has been no slowdown in activity. Investor interest remains focused on technology and the cutting edge applications that are possible through it, including mobile and robotics. However property, one of mankind’s oldest profit generators, continues to drive the interest of investors and is now our top sector for pitches.”

He continued:

“The growth in interest in impact related terms is remarkable and we are witnessing a seachange in investor attitudes as it has so quickly shot to the top of the news and business agenda. It is the reason we launched our spin off SeedTribe to help support entrepreneurs who put sustainability at the heart of their business model.”

The report also reveals some discrepancy between startup ideas and investor interest. While fashion and beauty remains the fourth most popular category for pitch ideas, it is just 17th on the list for investors. It also looks like faith in the maverick inventor, so beloved of Dragon’s Den, is waning. ‘Inventions’ as a search term fell by seven places from seventh to fifteenth most searched term. Meanwhile ‘Gadgets’ also fell by 15 places to number 32 as investors instead look for more tech and software based ideas.

AIN has also revealed the UK’s top entrepreneurial hot spots. London remains responsible for 37% of all pitch ideas, although its market share was slightly down. The South East is second in the list with the North West number three, up 10% year on year. There has also been impressive growth in other parts of the country. There was 25% growth in pitch ideas in the West Midlands, with East Anglia up 26%.

The Top 10 Sectors for Pitches:
Property
Entertainment & leisure
Technology
Fashion & Beauty
Food & Beverage
Software
Hospitality, Restaurants & Bars
Retail
Business Services
Education & Training

The Top Keywords for Investors:
Technology
Property
Mobile
Robotics
Software
Electronics
Computers
Products
Residential property
Finance

The entrepreneur hotspot list is as follows (based on number of pitches from each region):
London
South East
North West
South West
West Midlands
East Midlands
Scotland
East Anglia
Yorkshire and Humber
North East
Wales
Northern Ireland

Business Research, News, Research

Securing talent and external finances are the biggest challenges for European scale-ups

Recruiting and retaining talented staff and securing external finances are the two biggest challenges that European scale-ups face, according to a new joint report from Vlerick Business School and Scale-Ups.eu. The report also shows that boards with external investors are much more professional and have a greater ability to grow.

The study was conducted by Professor of Entrepreneurship, Veroniek Collewaert, Professor of Finance, Sophie Manigart and researcher, Dr. Thomas Standaert, all from Vlerick Business School, on behalf of Scale-Ups.eu. The researchers used Scale-Ups.eu data to study over 80,000 European scale-ups, based across 8 European countries – Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK.

The scale-ups reviewed were set-up between 2007 and 2013, and had raised at least $1 million from investors since their inception or experienced an average annual growth in sales or employment of at least 20% per year over a period of 3 years. In addition, 124 of these scale-ups were also questioned about their management practices by the researchers to understand the main challenges for European scale-ups.

The researchers found that only 40% of scale-ups recruit staff from abroad, and only 25% of scale-ups use recruitment agencies or head hunters to attract the right talent for their companies. Also, only 36% of scale-ups have an onboarding process for new employees. The researchers state that it is mainly scale-ups with external funding that are much further ahead in terms of HR and would also benefit greatly from the development of a professional HR policy.

The researchers also found that though scale-ups are perceived to be highly innovative and tech-savvy companies, this is not predominantly the case. In fact, the researchers found that only 1 in 4 scale-ups indicate that they had created a product or service that is new on a global scale, and around 1 in 3 even state that they have created nothing new at all.

Professor Veroniek Collewaert says,

“Our research succeeded in both debunking and confirming a number of common views on scale-ups. They are not all innovative tech companies. Not all of them have raised external financing. Our study does confirm the intuitive view though that finding and keeping enough high-quality employees is the #1 growing pain. Knowing this, however, it is painstaking to see how relatively little effort is being put in developing more professional HR practices related to recruitment and retention.”

The researchers also found that almost 40% of the scale-ups only use their own resources to finance their growth, meaning that they are either not open to external financing or unable raise it. Whilst only 30% of the scale-ups in the study had already raised money from external equity investors, despite this method massively increasing the professionalism of scale-ups.

Jürgen Ingels, founder of Scale-Ups.eu says,

“External financing is an important factor for increasing professionalism and growth, however this proves one of the biggest challenges for scale-ups. High-quality networking and matchmaking are therefore extremely important. This report shows the need for time squeezing and also the reason for our organisation’s existence. If you aim to grow, seek out relevant investors and go for smart money, let them pave the way to your success.”

Respondents to the study also stated three other key challenges for scale-ups in their attempts to grow; access to the market, leadership and infrastructure.

The researchers hope that the findings from the scale-ups report and the examples of successes and challenges of other scale-ups can help inform and guide other early scale-ups that are still in the exploratory and trial phases. The full European Scale-up Report can be downloaded from this link: https://www.vlerick.com/en/research-and-faculty/knowledge-items/knowledge/european-scale-up-report-reveals-five-key-challenges.

Business Investment, European News, Research

Invest but have no input – the best way for government funding to be a success

Governments that invest in businesses, but then have no say on any decisions made by company managers, are much more likely to see their investments be a success, according to new research by Vlerick Business School.

Professor of Corporate Finance, Sophie Manigart, and post-doctoral researcher, Thomas Standaert, found that governments that invested but had no input were more successful in stimulating growth in companies and providing more resources to the private risk capital market.

Whereas, the researchers found that governments that invest directly in a company and have complete control of all of the decisions tend to yield the poorest results. Businesses that raised funding this way did not grow faster than companies that raised no funding at all.

The research findings came from a previous study on both literature on government investments, but also from a dataset of 345 Venture Capital funds established between 1996-2017. The researchers analysed how a number of European companies developed after receiving venture capital through four different models, ranging from full government control, to government investment, but independent decision-making. The researchers compared the performances of each firm, up to five years after the initial VC investment.

The four key investment models that the researchers analysed were:
1. Direct and solitary – where a government invests directly in a target company and all decisions are made by the government
2. Direct but in partnership – the government invests directly in target companies, but in partnership with private investment funds
3. A passive government role – the government co-invests in target companies with private players who take all decisions. The government plays a passive role and is hands-off when it comes to most investment decisions; the government merely follows the private sector.
4. A government invests in a fund-of-fund and does not mingle in investment decisions – this goes a step further than the third model by having governments invest in private funds that are managed entirely by equally private fund managers.

Professor Manigart says,
“Government intervention in the risk capital market is needed in Europe and worldwide, but governments should respect the role of private players and not become dominant decision makers. Governments who simply provide this funding, but let the firm work independently and autonomously are much more likely to see growth, which can only be a benefit for investors, the firm, and customers alike”.

The researchers state that governments need to apply the fourth method more often in order for the target companies to be more innovative and successful. A good example of this model being implemented successfully is the Canadian government, who pioneered this model with the launch of the Venture Capital Action Plan, which has resulted in over $900 million in private investor capital being added to the ecosystem.

Government aid is genuinely effective for businesses, even companies like Apple and Tesla would not have survived without government funding. If there’s no financial help, then it could be argued that there would be no high-tech developments and innovations in society. Therefore, it is important that governments look to invest in the most effective way possible for growth in these companies, so that high-tech, social projects and high-employment companies have the greatest chance of growth and survival.