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SUMMARY:Collapse of the 'Funding Escalator' in the Greater Cambridge area 
 - David Gill\, CEO\, St John’s Innovation Centre
DTSTART:20100624T163000Z
DTEND:20100624T173000Z
UID:TALK24969@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Ella Davey
DESCRIPTION:In the Greater Cambridge area\, there is a dearth of risk capi
 tal (particularly venture funding) required by the innovative\, growth pot
 ential firms on which the cluster has relied for 30-40 years. To a limited
  extent\, demand has been met by imaginative new schemes provided by the p
 ublic sector\, at both a national and a regional level. However\, it is un
 realistic to expect the public sector alone to meet the gap. The ‘fundin
 g escalator’ is a continuum – from family investors and grants at the 
 outset right through to trade sales and IPOs – and prolonged congestion 
 or gaps at any stage will ultimately affect the health of the entire syste
 m. Particularly given the fragile state of public finances\, for the fores
 eeable future businesses need to access and use funds with enhanced profes
 sionalism rather than expect the supply of finance to revert to pre-2008 c
 onditions. \n\n\nRefreshments from 17.00.  Prersentation at 17.30 - 18.30.
 \n
LOCATION:Institute for Manufacturing\, 17 Charles Babbage Road\, Cambridge
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