Venture capital as a method of financing enterprise development in Central and Eastern Europe

Purpose - The paper aims to increase the understanding of the venture capital industry in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) by examining the venture capital industry in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia between 1998 and 2003. Even though the number of academic studies focusing on the venture capital activities in the CEE region has been increasing in recent years, the coverage of this industry is relatively weak and not well understood by individuals, businesses, and academics. Design/methodology/approach - The study focuses on the analysis of secondary data available from the European Venture Capital Association on venture capital activities in the CEE region. The paper examines three key statistics that best describe the venture capital process, namely fundraising, investing, and exiting activities. Findings - The study has three conclusions. First, venture capital financing continues to be a major source of capital to the developing firms in the region. Second, Poland is the market leader in the region in the venture capital activities as described by key statistics. Third, the countries of CEE cannot be treated as a homogeneous block. Originality/value - The study is important for two reasons. First, the study focuses on longitudinal data between 1998 and 2003, the most important period in the development of the industry. Shifts in trends in these key statistics can only be observed by analyzing longer‐term data series. Second, the evolution of the venture capital industry in the analyzed countries could be used as a blueprint for venture capital development in other countries in the region.