WHAT are the methods of venture capital financing?

Some common methods of venture capital financing are as follows: (i) Equity financing: The venture capital undertakings generally require funds for a longer period but may not be able to provide returns to the investors during the initial stages. Therefore, the venture capital finance is generally provided by way of equity share capital. The equity contribution of venture capital firm does not exceed 49% of the total equity capital of venture capital undertakings so that the effective control and ownership remains with the entrepreneur. (ii) Conditional loan: A conditional loan is repayable in the form of a royalty after the venture is able to generate sales. No interest is paid on such loans. In India venture capital financiers charge royalty ranging between 2 and 15 per cent; actual rate depends on other factors of the venture such as gestation period, cash flow patterns, risk and other factors of the enterprise. Some Venture capital financiers give a choice to the enterprise of paying a high rate of interest (which could be well above 20 per cent) instead of royalty on sales once it becomes commercially sound. (iii) Income note: It is a hybrid security which combines the features of both conventional loan and conditional loan. The entrepreneur has to pay both interest and royalty on sales but at substantially low rates. IDBI's VCF provides funding equal to 80 - 87.50% of the projects cost for commercial application of indigenous technology. (iv) Participating debenture: Such security carries charges in three phases – in the start-up phase no interest is charged, next stage a low rate of interest is charged up to a particular level of operation, after that, a high rate of interest is required to be paid.