Early Stage Financing for Innovation in Emerging Markets

Thank you very much for joining the webinar today! Please feel free to engage further in the discussion. We will post Tom Nastas' presentation and a recording of the webinar in due course.

Please find below the questions that came up during and before the webinar:

Carmen Contreras Romero:

What are the skills that public programs employees needs to have to actually run the type of project as in Kazakhstan? Or need to hire VC to do it?

Berta Rodraguez-Campans: 

How is the innovation level of proposals ranked? How innovative a proposal should be in relation with its potential of boosting the applying company?

Francie Sadeski: 

- Does it mean that the World Bank acts directly as a VC or did you build capacities of locals to set up some local VC which would be sustainable when the project comes to a close?

- If relevant, to what extent were the state laws on "public support" to firms a barrier to this project?

Grzegorz Wolszczak:

- What was the role of the Board in Kazakhstan, and were its decisions binding for administration?

- Would you recommend grants or loans as the main instrument of seed funds? If loans, what would be the collateral?

Nicola Magri:

Ex USSR countries are countries where politics and powers play a huge role.... that's not the case of other developing markets.... how did that influence the Angel Investors and the VC Development?

Angela Bekkers

- Are there already impact figures coming through from the Kazakhstan TCP? Are firms able to leverage new financing, for example? Are they recruiting employees / creating jobs? Any impact figures, for example, on how they are benefitting suppliers etc. (possible indirect jobs)

- In the environment of the former USSR and concentration of capital, do you feel that this program is democratizing entrepreneurial opportunities?

Zoubair Khouaja: 

The challenge in developing countries is no one support innovation, investors support projects only when it's already real and already start making success, then they finance to develop this project

Ellen Olafsen:

I would be interested in learning if there are any positive experiences of government involvement in early-stage finance. I have heard many examples of government involvement not working, but have not heard of many where it works.

Stella Tsartsara:

I am interested to get your take on joint ventures to finance non-financial healthcare and integrated long term and elderly care in LMIC.

Marta Goncalves:

I would like to know more about Cape Verde in particular and the Economic Community of West Africa.

Katja Popp:

Is crowdfunding an upcoming promising alternative for funding in EM? What are the key boundary conditions?

Erion Hoxha:

What is the biggest challenge on Early Stage Financing for Innovation in Emerging Markets?

Daniel Boakye:

What are the prospects of Venture Capital interventions in low income developing countries?