An investment of capital into a company or institution. Typically, the company or institution into which the injection is made is in distress, but the term is also applied to injections into start-ups. In the private sector capital injections are usually made in exchange for an equity stake. Governments also make capital injections into companies to stabilize important sectors of the economy. During the 2008 financial crisis the UK and US governments provided capital injections to banks in order to avoid collapse of the banking sector.