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Article: France sows the seeds of venture capital success Britain's neighbours are taking the lead in the race to fund startups, says Stewart Fleming
- Article from:
- The Evening Standard (London, England)
- Article date:
- November 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2000 Evening Standard - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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WHEN MICHELE GARUFI, an Italian chemist, was looking for venture
capital for the new biotechnology business he wanted to launch in the
early 1990s, the going was tough. He very quickly discovered that
seed capital was nowhere to be found in his home country. It was only
in 1995, after he turned to three French venture capital firms,
including the Paris-based member of Apax Partners group, that he
found the money he needed. "At that stage," he says, "British venture
capitalists were not really active in continental Europe, the Italian
market did not really exist and the French were only just starting."
How things have changed. "Last month we pulled in e 720 million