FINANCIAL STRATEGY OF INNOVATIVE ENTERPRISES IN THE FINTECH SECTOR: THE VENTURE INVESTMENT DIMENSION

Abstract

Introduction. Under contemporary conditions, venture investment can no longer be reduced merely to an external source of finance; it increasingly shapes the logic of financial decision-making, growth trajectories, business model choice, and the structure through which innovative enterprises combine various development instruments. The relevance of this study is further reinforced by the tendency, in 2024-2025, for the venture capital sector to demonstrate not only a recovery in activity but also stronger investor selectivity, greater capital concentration, and more demanding requirements regarding scalability, technological uniqueness, and market validation of projects.

Purpose. The purpose of the paper is to determine how venture investment influences the formation of the financial strategy of innovative enterprises and to substantiate the expediency of shifting from a narrow reliance on traditional venture financing toward adaptive and combined financing models.

Materials and Methods. The methodological framework of the study is based on abstract-logical, comparative, structural-logical, and systemic approaches, as well as on the methods of analysis, synthesis, and content analysis of academic sources. The empirical basis consists of secondary analytical data reflecting the dynamics and structural changes in venture financing in 2024-2025 at the global, European, and Ukrainian levels, including indicators of investment volumes, number of deals, sectoral concentration of capital, and the growing role of the segments associated with artificial intelligence, defense technologies, and security.

Results. The findings indicate that, in 2024-2025, the venture capital sector demonstrated not only a recovery in activity but also higher capital concentration, stronger sectoral selectivity, and more stringent requirements regarding scalability, technological distinctiveness, and commercial validation. It is substantiated that venture capital is increasingly directed toward financing innovative companies operating in strategically important segments, primarily those related to artificial intelligence, automation, defense technologies, security, and resilience. At the same time, the study shows that for many innovative enterprises, especially in volatile and institutionally constrained environments, the most realistic financial strategy is not a narrow reliance on traditional venture financing, but rather a combined model integrating venture capital with grants, public support, strategic partnerships, and other hybrid instruments. The scientific novelty of the results lies in developing an integrated approach to understanding venture capital as a factor shaping the entire financial strategy of innovative enterprises, rather than merely providing financing for individual growth stages. The practical significance of the results lies in their applicability to the strategic planning of financing models for innovative enterprises, as well as to the development of entrepreneurship support measures and innovation policy instruments.

Prospects. The prospects for further research include developing a typology of financial strategies for innovative enterprises based on their stage of development, industry specialization, and the configuration of blended financing. The practical significance of the obtained results also lies in their possible application to the strategic planning of financing models for startups and fintech companies, as well as to the improvement of entrepreneurship support instruments and innovation policy measures.