This past March saw the publication of the inaugural SME Equity Financing Atlas by PwC’s Accelerator. The first edition, entitled SME Equity Financing Atlas: A new investment boom phase driven by start-ups and tech, aims to evaluate the equity financing market for small- and medium-sized enterprises. Additionally, it identifies barriers and enablers within the market for SME equity financing at a global, cross-border, and regional level.

The inaugural edition of the SME Equity Financing Atlas by PwC’s Accelerator presents an in-depth evaluation of the current equity financing market for SME’s, identifying the relevant barriers and enables on a global, cross-border, and regional level. To do this, the authors analysed data gathered through Pitchbook as well as the World Bank resources, around equity investments in small- and medium-sized enterprises between the years 2010 through 2015. The report is designed with three key target audiences in mind, namely:

• CEO’s and leaders of start-ups and SMEs that are seeking equity financing
• Investors wanting to gain an overview of the current market situation.
• Governmental institutions or police makers that would like to determine whether the local ecosystem is attractive in terms of equity investments in SMEs.

The Atlas provides insights that can serve as a useful tool for each of the aforementioned stakeholders. For start-ups or SME’s looking for funding, the Atlas offers unique insight into investor activities, different types of investors that are currently present, and the most important recent trends. On the other end of the spectrum, for institutions and policy makers, the Atlas identities gaps in the current ecosystem, so as to offer guidance toward reviewing existing, and introducing new financing policies.

Key insights

Based on the detailed analysis provided in PwC’s Accelerator SME Equity Financing Atlas, a number of key insights and conclusions could be drawn from the report. These are briefly detailed below.

1) Accelerator and incubators on the rise and investing in young companies, as shown by the growth of 578% in number of deals in five years (from 547 to 3,709).

2) SMEs operating in booming industry verticals such as Fintech, Big Data, and Mobile are becoming more and more attractive to equity investors.

3) Of the 1,182 equity-backed companies we’ve followed over a period of 10 years, only 5% are able to exit via IPO, with the vast majority being US companies (75%).

To read or download the complete first edition of PwC’s Accelerator report SME Equity Financing Atlas: A new investment boom phase driven by start-ups and tech, including detailed insights, click here.