The search for equity capital? Implications for women entrepreneurs

It is believed that women are more likely to use personal savings and other types of internal funding for business growth in preference to external financing options. The nature of, reasons for, and implications of this lesser reliance of women on external finance is an important key to understanding women's entrepreneurial activity and growth strategies. This paper examines this topic, exploring New Zealand's private equity capital market from a composite perspective investigating both supply and demand side issues. A mainly qualitative approach is used to gather data from the formal venture capital and informal equity sectors and women entrepreneurs.