The Financing Methods That Can Promote The Growth of A Foreign-Owned SME Based in Asian Emerging Economies

Details

Supervisors

Falize, Marine

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences de gestion, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

This Master's thesis aims to explore the different financing methods that can support the growth of foreign-owned SMEs in emerging economies, particularly for foreign entrepreneurs seeking to establish themselves in the hospitality sector of emerging Southeast Asian economies. This research was conducted because of the increasing globalisation and rapid economic growth in Asia which has raised interest in this topic, yet this is still a niche area with little information available. While SMEs are crucial to the economic development of these emerging economies, foreign entrepreneurs face specific challenges in obtaining funding, particularly in the context of SMEs, the hospitality sector, and emerging Southeast Asian economies. Our study aims to fill this gap by exploring various financing methods and offering practical recommendations to help foreign entrepreneurs overcome these difficulties. To this end, this thesis examines 7 key topics: local networks, local knowledge, foreign direct investment (FDI), banks, subsidies, microfinance, financing by family, friends and fools (FFF), and partnerships. These themes are explored both in the literature review and in the empirical part of the thesis, where the validity of our hypotheses is tested through semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs and financial institutions in Indonesia, Vietnam and Belgium.