uk and the us, probably reflecting regulatory and legal barriers to financial integration. 10 within the euro area, the countries in which the issuance of abss is more frequent are spain, ireland, luxembourg, the netherlands and portugal. venture capital financing venture capital is a type of private equity investment provided by specialised investors as start - up money to finance new high - risk firms with large scope for growth ( e. g. those involved in new technologies ), in return for an equity position in the firm. 11 it represents an alternative source of capital financing, especially for those categories of firms ( start - ups and small innovative firms ) for which informational asymmetries are particularly pronounced, as it has been documented by the credit channel literature. indeed, even bank financing may be difficult to obtain for such firms, as they are usually involved in high - risk businesses, but have little collateral to offer. under a venture capital agreement, the investor acquires a significant equity stake in the firm, which provides him / her with the right incentive to monitor and control the firm and overcomes the potential asymmetric information problems. venture capitalists also serve their portfolio firms by providing coaching and guidance, as well as networking for strategic alliances and further funding. finally, venture capital financing is provided on a piecemeal basis over several stages, which reduces the entrepreneur ’ s incentive to skimp on effort during the early life of the firm. it should be noted that providing financing to small and medium - sized enterprises is very important in the euro area because these categories of firms represent a significant component of the economies of many of its members. thus, the financing of small - and medium - sized firms is crucial for fostering entrepreneurship, competition, innovation and growth in europe. in addition, venture capital financing plays an important role in supporting the diffusion of new technologies in existing sectors and in fostering the developments of new industries. in that sense, venture capital is a type of finance which is ideally suited for the purpose of transforming scientific knowledge into commercial output. for instance, a recent study of the european biotech industry by ecb staff has shown that venture capital financing increases the number of patent applications per unit of industrial r & d, suggesting that the involvement of venture capital investors makes r & d investment more efficient. 12 see ecb ( 2007 ), structural issues report on “ corporate finance in the euro area ”, may. these calculations do not include covered bonds which differ from abs in that the securi

been established by our leaders, governments, central banks, and representatives of the private sector have set the stage for our take - off. i look forward to our continued collaboration and welcoming you in kenya once the dark cloud of covid - 19 has lifted as it surely will. we face the future with hope and courage. but as the prime minister says, “ don ’ t run a sprint. pretend dis uh marathon. ” and there is a proverb that reminds us how we must prepare for the marathon : “ if you want to go fast, go alone. if you want to go far, go together. ” i wish you fruitful deliberations and a very successful conference. thank you for your attention!