Mission
Bpifrance provides assistance services and financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises, facilitating access to banks and equity capital investors, in particular during the high-risk phases: Start-up, Innovation, Development, International, Buy out.
Bpifrance is the French national investment bank, it was created in 2012.
Bpifrance is :
The French Sovereign fund.
The French National promotional bank
The French Innovation agency
The French Export credit agency
Bpifrance is owned by the French State and the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and directly regulated by the ECB and the AMF.
Acting in the French Regions, Bpifrance supports SMEs through a decentralised network of 50 regional offices, being in direct contact with the entrepreneurs and their partners: 90% of decisions are being made at regional level.
Bpifrance provides French companies with:
- -Innovation funding
- -Guarantees for bank financing and venture capital
- -Investment and operational cycle financing alongside banking and financial institutions
- -Equity investment, directly or through partner funds
- -Export support (Ubifrance and Coface export) through Bpifrance Export
- Business support services (acceleration programs, matching activities between communities of entrepreneurs and investors, consulting services and diagnosis, online and in live trainings…)
Budget
Bpifrance is currently managing €78bn, including €37bn in private equity and €41bn in financing (August 2020). Bpifrance has deployed more than €45bn in 2020, divided between:
-Innovation support and financing: €3B
-Guarantee to facilitate bank loans: €6.2B
-Financing activities: €20B
-Investments in companies’ equity: €3.6B
-Support to companies willing to export (including credit insurance and export credit): €14.9B
Activities
For the 2020-2023 period, Bpifrance’s activites will be guided by the implementation of the French economic recovery plan and the development of internal strategic plans. They include the Climate plan, the Deeptech plan, the French Fab Plan (for the development of the French industry) and the French Touch plan (to support the growth of French cultural and creative industries).
Bpifrance is running several innovation support programmes, either for individual companies or for collaborative research and innovation projects (of which clusters projects). 4000 companies are supported annually in average.
Bpifrance is running several investment funds dedicated to innovation support, in ecotechnologies, life sciences, ICT and other sectors. 1000 companies are invested in average each year, either directly or through the fund of fund activity.
At a European level, Bpifrance participates in several European Programmes and Networks:
– Horizon 2020: NCP for SMEs and Risk Finance
– EUREKA and Eurostars
– RSI programme
At the international level, Bpifrance has agreements covering innovation activities with several countries: Brazil, Canada, Russia, India, China, Israel, Japan, Korea.
Staff
2800
Contact
Christian Dubarry & Sylvie Cogneau
Pôle Europe – Direction des Affaires Internationales et Européennes
Bpifrance – 27-31 Avenue du Général Leclerc
F-94710 Maisons-Alfort Cedex
https://www.bpifrance.com/ = website in English