SEED-REG Project

Overview

The overall, fundamental objective of the operation is to improve the effectiveness of early-stage finance policies and instruments, by the exploitation of interregional cooperation and through large-scale information exchange and sharing of experience, with the aim of facilitating regional development and cohesion. Improving access to finance is an important aspect in fostering entrepreneurship in Europe. The persistent gap in early stage finance makes it necessary that the public sector continues to work in cooperation with the private sector in order to find the most appropriate solutions and courses of action to interfere effectively. Developing financial markets will be a particular challenge in the New Member States, because they suffer from low level of equity investments. For entrepreneurial growth companies, a well functioning seed capital market is an essential factor whose development must be a major priority for each and every government.

The establishment of early stage financing deserves special attention; otherwise the underperforming financial markets will hamper entrepreneurship and growth. In the involved regions many innovative business ideas cannot be realized due to lack of available financing (e.g. early-stage financing). By exploiting the outputs of this operation, the participants believe that they can encourage investments in innovative business activities and provide SMEs with effective financial support in their regions. The operation also encourages regional and other public authorities to utilize interregional co-operations in order to promote the development of their innovation strategies through access to the experience of others. The use of regional business support intermediaries and regional programs makes it possible for financial instruments to be tailored to the different financing traditions providing additional leverage to programs targeted at the financing gap in early stage SME finance.

The operation will facilitate co-operation between the partners with a specific focus on interregional exchange of experience and know-how in early-stage financing policies. Through the development and introduction of the operation's results, - particularly the feasibility analyses for the creation and operation of seed capital funds and also the innovation financing model -, the utilization of innovative business ideas, generated mainly at universities and research institutes, will be enhanced and more effective at regional and national level. The operation will provide all participating partners with a significant added value, not only through the facilitation of creation of new start-ups/spin-offs but also through the creation of new quality jobs as well as the encouragement of investments which contribute to European added value. Favourable framework conditions will be developed facilitating entrepreneurs' access to finance and that is what all entrepreneurial cultures need.