Denmark has one of the lowest levels of venture capital investment as a share of GDP among OECD countries. The Danish government tried a number of supply-side initiatives in the 1990s with varying degrees of success. Problems stem from a lack of equity investment culture, the high levels and complexity of taxes, a dominant role played by banks in venture financing, and few contributions from other institutional investors. A new strategy focuses on providing seed capital to start-ups through a reorganised government equity fund and technology incubators. The challenge is to build on this momentum to further diversify early-stage financing and deepen the entrepreneurial culture. This paper analyses trends in Danish venture capital markets and makes policy recommendations which have been developed through an OECD peer review process.
