Equity Gap on the Venture Capital Market in the Czech Republic
Venture capital has high possible impacts on growth of national economies. However, venture capital is rarely used in the Czech Republic. Particularly, early-stage venture capital financing is very low in the Czech Republic. Furthermore, business angels’ networks do not adequately take the place of lacking early stage venture capital funds. The venture capital market in the Czech Republic concentrates on larger later-stage investments. These are, however, still insufficient in compare to some other EU countries. The causes of the equity gap discussed are as follows: in the Czech Republic, the participation of pension funds and insurance companies as limited partners in PE/VC is significantly restricted by law, entrepreneurs are not willing to share business with external investors and are often lacking of strategic management knowledge.