Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the role of Government-Backed Venture Foundations (GBVFs) in the small and medium enterprise investment (SMEI) program in Japan. Based upon two types of questionnaire surveys and personal interviews of GBVF managers, we try to identify patterns of investment of the GBVFs and examine their differences. Our results show that a high level of investment growth is achieved by those foundations whose policy is based on IPO-oriented investments. It is also found that regional voluntary venture-support network is a key to increasing IPO-oriented investments.
