Joint ventures enable businesses to pool their resources, skills, expertise or finance to achieve results that would have been difficult to achieve individually. They can be long-term arrangements (when developing a new product, for example), or much shorter arrangements made when entering a new market. Small businesses can team up with partners that have complementary skills or specialist knowledge to help exploit new opportunities or undertake fresh challenges.

This factsheet explains what a joint venture is. It outlines the benefits of entering into a joint venture and describes different types of agreements as well as the legal framework that surrounds this type of agreement. It also provides some useful tips on how to manage the relationship and avoid common pitfalls.