“Les licornes”, literally translated from French as “the unicorns”, are startups valued at more than one billion euros – and they are multiplying across France. Due to this rapid growth, the French Republic is faced with supporting the development of these start-ups across a variety of tech sectors: commerce, health, mobility, data, media, gastronomy, crowdfunding…
The answer to this demand? La French Tech. More than just a support project for start-ups, La French Tech is a movement encouraging foreign companies and investors to set up in France.
Created in 2014, La French Tech is an official label aiming to unite metropolitan clusters around the world recognized for their start-up ecosystem.
Beyond being a label, it is also a support program for startups and scale-ups. It is driven by highlighting French technology companies that respond to the major challenges of our society, from ecological transitions to health to mobility of individuals.
In short, the goal of the program is to provide French companies with the support they need to become tech champions – companies shining internationally due to their technological supremacy.
In recent years, several French « licornes » have emerged with extraordinarily strong growth. Among these “licornes”, there are six in particular that have become essential : Back Market (electronics refurbishment), ManoMano (DIY marketplace), Blablacar (carpooling platform), Voodoo (mobile game creator), Doctolib (medical appointment booking platform), or Lydia (payment between individuals).
Thanks to their promising projects, they are reflections of international French success stories. Leading by example, these companies are now attracting numerous foreign investments and companies to France.
In order to meet this rapid development, several mechanisms have been put in place by La French Tech. In particular, La French Tech provides financial support to start-ups to promote and ensure their growth.
Programs have been designed to support start-ups in their development, offering them more visibility, access to specific services, and even the construction of new regulations to support them.
In addition, they can benefit from the rates applied to the Research Tax Credit. In fact, La French Tech themselves reported saving €1,5 million in 2018 due to the Research Tax Credit.
Other areas that will benefit from the taxation rates include partners in ministries, public institutions, and social security organizations.
Finally, to encourage the arrival of new foreign participants, the organization has created a French Tech Visa. It allows non-European start-ups, their founders, employees, and investors to easily obtain a residency permit or a residence permit in France. This visa is available to employees who want to join a French Tech company but is also available to foreign tech founders who want to launch their start-up in France.
The French Tech Visa even provides the possibility to move to France with your family. Thanks to the simplified procedure offered by La French Tech, the spouse of a French Tech Visa owner will be able to obtain a “Talent-Family Passport”, allowing them to live and work in France, as well.
Business France is a national institution supporting French companies in their international development and foreign companies in their investments in France. It has nearly 1,500 employees in France and abroad, as well as a solid network of public and private partners.
Business France is supported by the service Welcome to France. As the name suggests, this company welcomes international talent to assist in the set up of foreign companies in France.
This information service is part of the French Tech movement for foreign talent, and their families, moving to France for professional reasons. This company allows these newcomers to obtain information on taxation, social security, employment, and residence visas, easier than ever before.
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