Venture Capital

Recent climate and biodiversity COP forums, alongside IPCC reports, highlight the need for rapid action to address Net Zero and biodiversity through the UN 30 by 30 decree to protect 30% of the global land and water environment. More broadly, there is a need for businesses to respect the environment and to reduce their material burden on the planet through more efficient practices to adhere to UN Sustainable Development Goals and secure water, food energy and health.

This special issue addresses the critical role of SME finance to enable the green and sustainable innovations that can support the transition to an environmentally sustainable global economy. The focus is specifically on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and their financing with regard to SMEs developing green innovations or enabling their adoption of green equipment and practices. 'Green innovation' refers to changes that make a positive impact on the environment. This relates to reducing carbon and greenhouse gases for transition to Net Zero and also wider environmental impacts to address the protection and improvement of biodiversity and circular economy considerations which reduce material use and waste.

This special issue call encourages academic theoretical and practitioner and policymaker contributions which address the financing of SME green and sustainable innovations. These may address (but are not restricted to) the following issues:

• The role of public policy to support and finance sustainable and green innovation. This might focus on stimulating and developing new green innovation, or policies which support the adoption of innovative equipment and practices by SMEs.
• Addressing the information asymmetries that exist between green entrepreneurs and financiers which prevent assessment of risk and reward for environmental impact investors.
• Consideration for the co-financing initiatives that are required to ensure that longer horizon green deeptech achieves commercialization. This might extend to a consideration of wider financing policies such as grants and tax schemes.
• Case studies and comparisons between different place-based and sector initiatives, their context, ecosystems and what might inform best practice.
• The roles of different types of private investors involved in developing the impact innovation investment escalator. This might include specific finance escalator stage studies examining the roles of venture studios, incubators, accelerators, crowdfunders, challenger banks, business angels, venture capitalists, venture debt etc. to fund green innovation spanning seed to scaleup.
• The roles of universities in nurturing, stimulating and financing green innovation.
• New forms of innovative green private financing solutions such as green bonds, blockchain and green supply-chain financing, Net Zero carbon offsetting, biodiversity net gain, land habitat banking and biodiversity offsetting.
• Theoretical contributions to qualitative and quantitative research in the field of SME green innovation finance. This might involve mixed methods approaches which provide greater understanding of complex interactions within the entrepreneurial finance ecosystem.

Specific requirements (not journal formatting):

This Special Issue is seeking full research papers, underpinned by academic theoretical approaches.

Policy and practitioner papers, written with academic style and references will be considered.

Maximum word length 8,000, excluding tables, charts and references.

Please supply full academic list of references.

Deadline for initial full manuscript submission 31/05/2024 - please submit earlier if you wish.

Final publication of the special issue is scheduled for Spring, 2025.

When submitting, please state for special issue: Financing SME Green and Sustainable Innovation

Initial enquires can be emailed to Guest Editor: Robyn Owen r,[email protected]

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