Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Investing in companies these days can be pretty easy. You do some research into firms with a good potential for revenue and profit — maybe get a hot tip from a friend or relative — then find a broker and give them a few bucks to stake your investment. From there, you can just sit back and hope for a good return.
France has decided it wants to invest some major money into its future, but it’s taking a much more pro-active approach with its investment method. So, it’s created its own version of a startup jam to seek out and incubate entrepreneurial thinking, then turn those projects into actual companies that are doing business in the country.
In 2013, France President François Hollande called for the creation of the Innovation 2030 Committee, with plans “to confront the major challenges of the world of 2030.” The committee was tasked to find sources of innovation and entrepreneurship that could spark the country’s economy and employment over the next few decades.
In turn, the Innovation 2030 Committee created the Worldwide Innovation Challenge to take pitches from companies with great ideas, determine the best out of the bunch, and then, through the government’s “public investment bank” BPIFrance, seed those companies with funds to get their ideas off the ground. France pledged 300 million Euros in funding to back the Worldwide Innovation Challenge, and companies can either be French or foreign countries willing “to set up shop in France.” In addition, the challenge enables companies to get higher visibility for their work and helps them connect to other business entrepreneurs and innovators. Article continues at venturebeat.com