The Startup Ecosystem of France

France’s public sector is highly active on all fronts in developing local startup ecosystems. It is quite unique for a country to have its president involved directly in the promotion and development efforts of the startup scene, as is the case with President Macron. The goal of creating a “startup nation” opened the door for a variety of strong international organizations. The most notable are La French Tech, a platform that brings together the networks of startup ecosystem stakeholders, and the French Tech Visa, an initiative for attracting investors, startup founders, and foreign talent. There is also the Paris Region Entreprises, a business and innovation catalyst in the ecosystem. Moreover, France is home to Station-F, the biggest startup campus in the world.
French government initiatives aimed at boosting investments in new high-risk projects and SME modernization seem to be helpful, such as tax breaks to business angels who reinvest capital gains in innovative firms and the streamlining of business creation procedures. However, the direct investment in startups made by the public sector seems to be relatively high compared to other ecosystems, an example being the State bank of Bpifrance, a major player in startup funding nationally.
It’s inspiring to see that some French startups are already leaving their mark globally (Blabla car and Ledger are two of our favorites), and there is much potential for even further future growth. The number of French unicorns is truly a success for the country, and the long lasting impact of these achievements should translate into a higher number of foreign investments. After all, the government has set the goal for the ecosystem to produce 10 more unicorns by 2025, three of which are expected to be in the cybersecurity industry. France has more ambitious goals as stated in their France 2030 plan, which also sets the investment trajectory of the country.
It should be noted that although recent reforms were made, the French business environment is still clearly underperforming compared to the achievements of its entrepreneurs. Relatively strict labor laws and a low level of English proficiency are still limiting the potential of the French ecosystem to grow startups at full speed. This is a good lesson: regardless of the strategic vision of any country in developing its startup ecosystem, you can’t separate it from the general regulations and policies on the ground.