O7IM 2270A - Financing Innovation

Access to finance is a key determinant of innovation, technological development and entrepreneurship and key driver in the creation, survival and growth of innovative new ventures. Young, small and innovative firms often face financial constraints, preventing them from realising their innovative ideas or taking growth opportunities.
The aim of this course is to learn the fundamentals of financing innovation, develop the right tools and analytical mindset to support the next generation of disruptive technologies and impact innovation for a green, sustainable and inclusive future. By bringing in the enabling aspects of innovation, you will gain a broad knowledge, helping to unlock the finance needed to help the best ideas from the brightest minds turn into high-impact commercial values – that have a real impact on our economies and societies.
We will discuss how the characteristics of innovation shapes the way it is being financed, who is supporting innovation, how and when. In particular, we will explore how a financing journey of innovative start-ups typically look like, what type of financing are suitable along the stages of business development: from early seed-stage, start-up, scale-up, to more mature firms and large corporates. We will discuss financing options such as grants, seed money, business angels, equity and debt, venture capital and venture debt, hybrid or mezzanine financing. This course focuses on technological innovation, and makes deep dives into the financing of deep tech / emerging disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and quantum technologies.

Maria LUNDQVIST

Enseignement électif

English

12 seminars of two hours each (24 hours).

Autumn 2021-2022

The student will be assessed based on i) active participation in class (25%); ii) a short final written test, demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the main concepts and ideas discussed (25%); and iii) final written individual essay to develop an analytic perspective and applying the ideas elaborated throughout the course (50%).

The course is structured in a lecture-discussion format. Emphasis is on interactive discussions and the use of real-world examples / case analysis as a way of developing conceptual, analytical, decision-making, and evaluative skills. External field experts may be invited to participate to some of the sessions.