Equity financing for SMEs - how to make it a reality

Governments, central banks and international institutions have been mobilising resources in an effort to mitigate the economic consequences of the coronavirus for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). But the current rescue programmes are largely debt-based, suggesting a rapid rise in debt levels at the firm level, not coordinated at the European level, and differing greatly in volume across EU member states. To overcome these inefficiencies, academics have recently proposed a European Pandemic Equity Fund (EPEF) to provide equity-like investments in SMEs, in exchange for a proportionate participation in the companies’ earnings.

AGENDA EVENT REPORT

SPEAKERS

• Elena Carletti, Professor of Finance, Bocconi University; founder and Scientific Director, Florence School of Banking and Finance, European University Institute
• Jesús Gonzalez Nieto, Director of MAB (Mercado Alternativo Bursátil – Alternative Stock Market), Bolsas y Mercados Españoles
• Barry McGrath, Manager, Innovation and Alternative Finance, European Investment Fund
• Morana Mavricek, Policy Officer, DG FISMA, European Commission

Moderator: Apostolos Thomadakis, Researcher, CEPS-ECMI