(05 April 2019) – Today, the European Commission published a new study which finds that the cultural and creative sectors across Europe continue to face challenges to receive loans or equity finance for new activities.
Barriers usually include the difficulty of assessing the value of intangible assets of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), their lack of business track records or scalability. Between 2014 and 2020, these obstacles prevented enterprises to access between €8 and €13 billion.
At the same time, the study shows that EU’s support for the cultural and creative sectors through its Creative Europe programme, worth €1.46 billion in 2014-2020, is benefiting SMEs, which face difficulties to access finance.
For the future, the study recommends implementing a mix of financial instruments and technical assistance under the new InvestEU Programme. Alongside the expansion of the Guarantee Facility for cultural and creative sectors, these instruments could include co-investment with business angels and with venture capital firms, complemented by equity crowdfunding.