Analysis of the Role of VCFs as Non-banking Financial Institutions in Financing Women’s Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Investment funds are one of the main players in the capital market. In the current conditions, especially popular is their form alternative investment funds (AIFs) and the modality thereof venture capital funds (VCFs). VCFs are non-banking financial institutions that collect the capital of many investors and directly invest it in a portfolio of perspective businesses, often gaining ownership in them. The main goal of these funds is to increase profits realized by the sale of shares in the mentioned businesses in the later period, i.e. when the companies, thanks to their innovations and potentials, become recognized on the market, and when the value of their shares rises. As VCFs can contribute to the expansion of investment in young, innovative, high-risk businesses, especially those run by women, the research aims to analyze the role which these non-banking financial institutions have in financing women's entrepreneurship. It is expected that research will encourage women to get into the entrepreneurial market and business entities in whose managerial positions they are to turn to non-banking financial institutions of this type for capital support. Descriptive and comparative methods, analysis and synthesis, and a detailed analysis of available domestic and foreign literature were used for the preparation of this paper. The result of the research is the confirmed belief that in current market conditions VCFs, as non-banking financial institutions, play a prominent role in financing women's entrepreneurship.