The Emergence of Start-ups

2Financing Young Innovative Companies in France

2.1. Introduction

In 2015, more than 9,400 start-ups were identified in France. The French ecosystem is very dynamic: the number of start-ups created increased by approximately 30% between 2012 and 2015, which is 10 times more than that of traditional companies (Maddyness 2017a).

The stakes involved in the creation and growth of innovative companies are considerable, since innovation is now recognized as an essential element of European countries’ growth (Gallois 2012). The public authorities have been aware of this and have made great efforts since the early 2000s to encourage the creation of these companies. However, the result in terms of innovation does not always seem to be there, which warrants asking some questions. This paper therefore raises the following question: how to facilitate the financing of innovative companies in France?

The first part of the research work is devoted to defining the notion of a young innovative company. In addition, the different ways of financing innovation will be presented. However, it should be noted that this section does not aim to establish an exhaustive list of all types of financing for innovative entrepreneurship, but rather to highlight the main ones. We also studied France’s positioning in relation to other countries.

The second part is devoted to the presentation of an empirical study. This qualitative study explores the financing methods used in practice by innovation entrepreneurs. ...