VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS AS SOURCE OF FINANCING ENTERPRISES IN POLAND

Subject and purpose of work: The main issue of the work is to present the essence of venture capital, i.e. Venture Capital funds and Private Equity funds. The aim of the article is to indicate the size of the share and the role of funds in financing enterprises located in Poland. The time horizon of the presented data covers the years 2012-2019. Materials and methods: The material for analysis is available statistical data, reports of commercial companies and other entities researching the size of the Venture Capital and Private Equity sector in Poland. For the purposes of the study, the literature on the subject was used as well as the data of: Narodowy Centrum Badań i Rozwoju, KPMG Sp. z o.o., the State Development Fund, the Startup Poland Foundation and the European Association of Venture Capital and Private Equity Investors. The method of analysis and criticism of the literature and the method of examining documents were used. Results: The research carried out in Poland makes it possible to assess the size of the implemented venture capital investments, i.e. VC and PE funds, over the years 2012-2019. The presented data indicate that the share of funds in financing Polish enterprises has a variable tendency. The percentage share of VC and PE investors in Europe in 2017-2018 is also variable. Conclusions: The Polish economic market is an attractive investment area in terms of cash allocation needs by venture capital funds. Increasing awareness of enterprise managers about the benefits of using these capitals to subsidize the activities of entrepreneurs allows them to discount VC and PE funds in innovative startups and in other processes, the implementation of which takes place in further phases of the company's operations. The studies conducted so far cover the entire territory of Poland and are of an overview nature. The VC and PE funds, which are a new financial instrument, allow Polish enterprises to implement innovative projects