On 29 January 2015, the French Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital and the Secretary of State for the Digital Sector launched La French Tech’s new international three-part strategy, which includes a call for private organisations to participate in a scheme (worth € 15 million, equivalent to AUD 20.8 million) that encourages foreign investment in innovation. The initiative is an example of the use of public-private partnerships to drive growth and innovation. It is open to all people (including entrepreneurs, investors and media representatives) in France or abroad who are working with or for French start-ups. The initiative is supported through three components: the French Tech Hubs programme, an International Appeal initiative and  the French Tech Tickets measure.

Below is some background on the initiative and links to further information.

Background:

 “La French Tech” is an initiative that was launched on October 2013 by the Minister for SMEs, innovation and the digital that aims to improve the structure of innovation ecosystems. The initiative involves all the people, in France or abroad, working for or with French start-ups including entrepreneurs, investors, engineers, designers, developers, associations, bloggers, media, big companies and government agencies.

 The new strategy for La French Tech consists of:

• The establishment of “French Tech Hubs” within major international innovation regions. French Tech Hubs will rally the French entrepreneurial ecosystem within these regions with an eye to stepping up the expansion of French start-ups wishing to set up shop and promote France’s appeal to local business leaders and investors. Similar to the approach taken for the “French Tech Métropoles”, a “French Tech Hubs” label will be granted by the French government on the basis of a project complying with a set of specifications, which have now been published (http://www.lafrenchtech.com/).
• The launch of La French Tech’s International Appeal initiative. The goal of this programme, which has been given a €15 million budget, is to support projects, particularly private-sector ones, that highlight French innovation excellence. This will take the form of increased presence and visibility at major international events, for example, or attracting investors, entrepreneurs and influential opinion-makers to France so that they can see for themselves the rich diversity of the country’s ecosystems. Calls for projects have been published (https://cdcinvestissementsdavenir.achatpublic.com/sdm/ent/gen/ent_detail.do?PCSLID=CSL_2015_ByF5M-abSa).
• Implementation of the French Tech Tickets measure. The idea is to attract young international entrepreneurs to France by providing them with residence permits, individual grants, premises in an innovation setting and customized support to help them get up and running. An initial group of 130 projects will be hosted during 2015.

More information about La French Tech can be found here: http://en.lafrenchtech.com/. Additional information about the above initiatives can be found on the French version of the website (http://www.lafrenchtech.com/content/internationalisation-de-la-french-tech).