Finance
Funding efficiency is needed to accelerate eco innovation. Access to finance is essential for the start up and growth of businesses in general and particularly for the development and exploitation of eco innovation. However, there are many challenges faced by small to medium sized enterprises (SME) and financial actors in this domain.
'Financing Eco Innovation and Investing in Intellectual Capital' brings together individuals and organizations in a way that does not require a large investment of funds and time. By pooling our contacts and resources, we can find new opportunities to bring innovations to market in a quick and efficient manner. We help SMEs to overcome market penetration challenges by providing them easy and fast access to funding, markets, government approval process, and key contacts.
Innovators, Entrepreneurs and Growth Businesses
'Financing Eco Innovation and Investing in Intellectual Capital' is about commercializing environmental technologies and business ideas. It brings together experts, leaders, learners, innovators, entrepreneurs, investors and advisers.
CEC's strategy is SMART objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and
Time-Boud; sustainable and inclusive growth; collective impact and shared value. An outcome is creating new partnerships and finding the most efficient ways of financing eco innovation.
Key Recommendations to Stimulate the Financing
- Stability in regulation, policy framework and public procurement to attract investors;
- Development of a range of financing options for eco-innovative SMEs, including debt and smaller scale financing as venture capital is very selective and not able to address the needs of all eco-innovators;
- Review and reduction in red tape for public support;
- Development of more flexible risk-sharing conditions to engage more financial actors – namely banks – in this crucial policy area;
- Better understanding of the role business angels can play to support eco-innovation as they operate differently than venture capitalists;
- Intelligent use of public funding through leveraging, using it as a complement to private finance;
- Greater involvement of large corporations and understanding of how they can contribute to the financing of eco-innovation; and
- Need to look at the international dimension of eco-innovation financing to meet the challenges of global needs and competition.
