The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor has published several new reports during 2004 including updated country reports from Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa. I will continue my series of country reports called "Winds of Entrepreneurship" (Search) in near future once time allows. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile I was attracted by a presentation by William Bygrave about Venture Capital investments in various parts in the world. It highlights the two distinct ways of venture capital a) Classical as we all know it and b) informal venture capital or family & friends. The latter provides

"99.963% of all companies tracked with capital or provided 91.00% of the total amount of funding."

. Sure this is not a big surprise but if you take family & friends money and classical VC into account guess which country invests most in venture capital as percent of GDP - US?, Israel?, Canada?. No it is China that has the lead:



More than 5 percent of GDP invested in risky new companies. Wow this is a great investment into the future and hopefully proves to be sustaining through a backlash in China's GDP growth (once that arrives).