Title: Structure of the start-up capital and continuity of companies in Cameroon

Authors: Léopold Djoutsa Wamba; Isidore Bimeme Bengono

Addresses: Department of Accountancy and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 110 Dschang, Cameroon ' Department of Accountancy and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 110 Dschang, Cameroon

Abstract: This study seeks to examine the relationship between the structure of the start-up capital and the survival of companies. The study considers the structure of the start-up capital as the share of the managerial capital (share of the capital held by the entrepreneur and his family), the share of capital held by the majority shareholder and the holding of shares by professional investors during the creation of the company. Based on econometric analyses through the application of ordinary least squares regression on a sample of 8,742 Cameroonian companies, the results reveal that generally, the structure of the capital at the creation of the company has a positive and significant influence on the survival of the given company in Cameroon. However, the study also reveals that the survival of the company improves with the share of the capital held by the entrepreneur and his family, the share of the capital held by the majority shareholder and the presence of professional investors in the capital of the company during its creation.

Keywords: start-up capital; continuity; investment capital; risk capital; business angels; start-ups; firm survival; company survival; managerial capital; majority shareholders; share holding; professional investors; ordinary least squares; OLS regression; Cameroon; entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/AJAAF.2014.065179

African Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, 2014 Vol.3 No.1, pp.48 - 66

Published online: 24 Oct 2014 *

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