The means of finance employed for positive net present value (NPV) projects has important implications for the firm. The cumulative effect of these discrete financing decisions results in the capital structure of the firm, composition of which has long been a focus of research in the corporate finance discipline. Theoretical discourse on the subject originates from the irrelevance propositions of Modigliani and Miller (1958), stating that the capital structure of the firm is independent of its cost of capital, and therefore of firm value. This has spawned a substantial body of theoretical literature and empirical tests, which have focused primarily on the decision to employ debt or equity for investment projects. These studies focus on subjects of agency, signaling, and taxation, typically examining the incremental financing decision. Researchers conducting empirical investigations of SME capital structures adopt theoretical approaches developed in the field of corporate finance. These studies commonly examine determinants of financial resources employed by firms, linking themtofirmorownercharacteristics(SeeAppendixBforareviewofthisliterature). Data employed in empirical tests is typically cross-sectional, and firm financing is modelledasacontinuousprocess.Whilsttheseapproachesarevaluable,theylargely ignore the issue of the sources of finance employed by a firm at various stages of its life cycle, and how the combination of financing changes and evolves across stages of development. This is a very important omission, as a firm’s funding requirements