I like some of what the article proposes, but some parts leave me skeptical. The author sketches out an industry of funds to buy and scale small businesses to Middelstand level. I think one of the reasons for Germany's strong Mittelstand is that many of these are privately owned, sometimes even family-owned, and can take a long-term view on business and innovation. I lack the imagination to see how the proposed kinds of funds could be content with dividends year after year rather than the exits I suspect they'd prefer.

I wish there were more dividends-only VCs...