Prof Robyn Owen

Robyn Owen is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Finance at the Centre for Enterprise, Environment and Development Research (CEEDR), Middlesex University Business School, where she has worked for thirty years. She is an experienced SME researcher, specialising in policy analysis and evaluation and local economic development research. Her focus during the last 15 years, since the Global Financial Crisis has been on small business access to finance, with particular interest in the financing of young potential high growth businesses and those involving green environmentally positive innovation.

Robyn’s recent research has included Principal Investigator management roles in UKRI funded projects, including ESRC Low Carbon Innovation (2020) and NERC SME Nature Positive Finance market research (2022-2024). She is also currently a leading collaborator with the Enterprise Research Centre examining UK Early Equity markets and undertaking international research on SME green finance markets in France (with University of Angers) and New Zealand (with University of Waikato). Robyn has a long track record of government commissioned research, including evaluations of: Seed and Scaleup Venture Capital (with SQW for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ireland, 2023), UK Regional Investment Funds (with SQW for British Business Bank, 2017-2022), Early Equity Schemes, including Enterprise Capital Funds and the Angel Co-investment Fund (for British Business Bank, 2013-14); Investigation into the Motivations Behind the Listing Decisions of UK Companies (for UK Department for Business and Trade, 2013); and Early Assessment of the UK Innovation Investment Fund (for UK Department for Business and Trade, 2012), and scoping of SME finance in London (with SQW, for Greater London Authority, 2013) and The Future of Early Stage and Growth Finance (with SQW, for the Northern Ireland Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, 2014-15).

Robyn’s CUSP research has focused on the development of UK and international green early-stage innovation finance markets. This is embodied in the publication of a special issue in IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management in 2023: Entrepreneurial Finance for Green Innovative SMEs. This research highlights multiple finance gaps in the funding for SME green innovation, particularly at early stages in the UK and globally. This is also leading to further research in emerging markets such as Brazil (with CUSP Fellow, Patrick Elf), as well as comparative research collaborations in more mature finance markets, such as France and New Zealand.  Robyn’s work demonstrates a persistent gap for young, early growth, long horizon R&D businesses operating in green low carbon and ecological sectors such as alternative energy solutions, engineering biology and agtech. This research involves a thorough review of UK policies and financing instruments to address the finance gap and case study business research to examine the evidence and impacts of the financing gap and where appropriate financing instruments have, or can make a difference.

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