French Tech Tour to India 2018

Dear guests,

I am very pleased to welcome you all today, at the conclusion of the third edition of the French Tech tour to India. It has been quite a tour this year! You have had the opportunity to travel to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Delhi. More than 60 meetings were organized, and I hope these first contacts will rapidly lead to concrete projects.

I would like to thank all the Indian and French professionals who have accepted our invitation today. Your presence speaks volumes on the substance and dynamism of the partnership we are developing in the IT sector.

With over 20,000 tech start-ups, and many large corporates involved in Open Innovation and Acceleration programmes, India and France definitely belong to the top five tech start-up ecosystems in the world.

We have already developed a strong relationship, with many major players long present in India, such as CapGemini (with over 1 lakh employees), Atos, Altran, SopraSteria. Reciprocally, Indian IT majors such as Wipro, TCS and Infosys have set up subsidiaries in France and are increasing their investments in our country. Last week as I was visiting the TCS center in Mumbai, I was amazed by this company’s growth and its commitment to Europe and France.

But besides giants, SMEs and start-ups will increasingly be playing a key role in building the Indo-French partnership in the IT sector. More than 80 French companies and French entrepreneurs operate out of India in the IT industry. This number is growing.

The French Tech tour, and its mirror programmes, The French Tech Ticket which is a one year incubation programme in France, have been great opportunities for French and Indian start-ups to discover our respective countries and develop their business in France and India.

Last year, 20% of the 70 start-ups selected for the French Tech Ticket were from India. We can do even more and on a bigger scale. That’s what we’re aiming at for the third edition of the French tech ticket that will be launched in January 2019.

It’s indeed a great opportunity for Indian companies to join the revolution happening in France.

Within a few years, France has become one of the leading start-up nations in the world. It was ranked last year as the number one destination in Europe for start-ups from the five continents. France is also number one in Europe for venture capital fund-raising: 2.7 billion euros were raised in 2017 (compared to 2.3 Bn euros for UK and 1.1 Bn euros for Germany).

So it’s more than time to jump in the train!

Dear guests,

To conclude this French Tech Tour, it is my privilege and pleasure to honour two French companies that are doing really well in India.

The Indo-French relationship is nurtured by French companies that have chosen to come to India and to invest in this country. That is why I am pleased to present a special award tonight to Lyra Network on its 10th anniversary in India.

Lyra Network has a workforce of more than 60 people and works with the major banks in India, as well as other organisations as MakeMyTrip and India Post.
Christophe Mariette represents Lyra. You can be proud of what has been accomplished by your company in India in the last decade. We hope that the next 10 years will be as or even more successful.

And now it is time to award the grand prize of the French Tech Tour to India 2018. This prize honours the start-up that offers the best technology and the best business opportunities in India.

5 shortlisted start-ups were judged by a jury of professionals that included an Indian corporate (Infosys), a French accelerator based in Bangalore (AirbusBizLab), an Indian bank actively involved in the start-up ecosystem (YesBank) and Invest India, the Indian investment agency.

All 5 start-ups scored high, but, as you know, there can be only one winner tonight. And the Winner of the French Tech Tour to India 2018 is Tempow. My warmest congratulations and best wishes go out to you for every success for your development in India.

Launched in 2013, the “French Tech” is an initiative spearheaded by the French Government in association with public and private stakeholders in order to nurture the densification, the growth and internationalization of Tech startup ecosystems in France, and to accrue the positioning of France as a leading European Innovation and Business Hub towards any Tech company.

It consists in:

• a set of programs (grants to entrepreneurs, access of entrepreneurs to IT and research resources, fund of funds, acceleration fund, “French Tech Ticket”, etc.) designed to achieve these objectives;
• networks of labeled ecosystems located throughout France;
• a brand and logo, this pink rooster to which any “French Tech” entrepreneur associates itself. The "French Tech" eventually refers to all the stakeholders and individuals contributing to the Tech startup ecosystem in France or abroad. The initiative is sector-agnostic and relates not only to the Digital economy or ICTs, but also to BioTech, CleanTech, EdTech, FinTech, FoodTech, MedTech, etc.

For further information, you can log on to the Website of the “French Tech” initiative: http://bonjourlafrenchtech.com/

Business France is the National Agency for the Internationalization of the French Economy, responsible for fostering the international expansion of French businesses as well as promoting and facilitating international investments in France. It promotes France’s companies, business image and nationwide attractiveness as an investment location, and also runs the V.I.E scheme (an international internship program).
Business France has 1,500 staff members, both in France and over 70 countries throughout the World.

In India, Business France maintains offices in New Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore and Chennai, with a multicultural team of French and Indian experts who work intensively to strengthen the relations between French and Indian companies.

For further information, please visit: www.businessfrance.fr and youbuyfrance.com/in.