Zoo Station

I was browsing the World Bank bookstore in Washington D.C. last week when I came across a little book called Venture Capital and Private Equity Funds for Development. Here's what the blurb says.

Entrepreneurs face a multitude of challenges when setting up and growing their business venture. This is even more so for entrepreneurs in emerging markets and developing countries. Access to finance is often the main challenge. The Venture Capital and Private Equity for Development Index gives access to the major funds financing business in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. This practical guide has an easy to use index with funds listed by key fund attributes such as regions, sectors and company size financed. It lists over 270 funds investing in developing countries. The Index is compiled by the Business in Development program of Dutch National Committee for International Cooperation and Sustainable Development (NCDO) in cooperation with the Adapppt Foundation in The Netherlands.

The index, in particular, looked like a useful tool for those of us interested in the role of private capital in economic development.

In addition, the folks who put this book out also have a very interesting website up called the Bid Network. The Bid Network is an online community which lets entrepreneurs submit business plans, which are then routed to investors and partners. I have no idea how efficient or successful the network is, but a web-based model could certainly remove a lot of the transaction costs. Have a look.