The role of high-risk funds in financing innovative ventures in Poland

The phenomenon of a capital gap is a problem faced mainly by young, innovative enterprises. Due to running high-risk business activities, access to traditional financing is limited for them. This is why they seek alternative sources of financing. The paper attempts to answer the question of whether financing business activity by high-risk funds and by public capital is a good solution to support innovation. The paper shows the special role of financing ventures with high development potential, particularly those innovative ones, by means of high-risk capital. The article also describes the essence of private equity/venture capital operations and the principles of the activity of the Polish Development Fund (Polski Fundusz Rozwoju), noting PFR Ventures. The paper is based on rich literature, both in Polish and English, which includes results of several studies indicating the relationship between the use of risk capital and innovative business activity. The applied research method was based on a literature review, on the grounds of which the essence of the problem of financing innovative projects was indicated.