French startups can apply for Next40 and French Tech 120

Every fall, La French Tech and Bpifrance publish a list of 40 French startups and pave the way for the next generation of French entrepreneurs.

Last year, the French government and the government-supported La French Tech’s initiative published an index of French startups to make them easier to identify. The top 40 startups receive the Next40 brand, and the top 120 startups are grouped in the French Tech 120 – a word game with the CAC40 and SBF 120 stock indexes, TechCrunch reports. 

The French Tech Next40/120 program supports French large-scale projects that could potentially become global technology leaders. Applications for the 2021 program are open until December 6th, 2020, La French Tech announced. 

The list of the 40 private companies in this year’s Next40:

The government is currently working on updating the index. And in order to do that, startups have to apply and match the exact same criteria as last year.

To participate, startups must:

• have headquarters in France
• have closed their first financial year since 2000
• be independent (without ransom or IPO)
• qualify as an innovative company
• attracted more than 20 million euros ($24 million) in the capital (primary share only) in 2018, 2019, or 2020.
• have reached more than five million euros ($6 million) in the last fiscal year, with an average annual growth of at least 30% over the last three fiscal years. 

Companies joining the program will benefit from initiatives specifically made to support them during their rapid growth phase.

They will have access to:

• unlimited access to a range of services offered by 45+ ministries, government agencies, and public services, designed to meet the needs and speed of startups in hyper-growth 
•  increased visibility, through influence, communication, and presence operations in official delegations abroad
• bizdev opportunity with the state, thanks to accelerated referencing of public buyers and business meetings with them
• support from a dedicated “Startup Engagement Manager,” to help them make the most of the program

Two new things are worth highlighting. First, the government has signed a partnership agreement with Euronext to train entrepreneurs to go public. Second, in January 2021, the government will also select 20 greentech startups to access the same fast track programs. It’ll be a separate list, TechCrunch writes.