‘Je choisis French Tech’ has surpassed the 2 billion mark and is expanding across Europe

The government is organising itself on a ministry-by-ministry basis

For the first time, each ministry is appointing a ‘Je choisis la French Tech’ ambassador. Acting as a key liaison within their respective departments, their role is to raise awareness of solutions offered by French start-ups and scale-ups amongst public sector buyers, to build concrete bridges between public procurement and the tech ecosystem, and to drive a cultural shift in the government’s procurement practices. By bringing together the ambassadors of this inter-ministerial network at VivaTech, the government has a new tool to accelerate public innovation and strengthen its technological sovereignty at the heart of government departments.

Major groups exceed €2 billion in commitments

Nine new major groups have joined the programme: Safran, Eutelsat, Atos, Bouygues Construction, Groupe Rocher, Fnac Darty, Crédit Agricole S.A., Groupama and Stellantis. Together with the 14 already on board, there are now 23 major French companies collectively committed to exceeding €2 billion in purchases from French start-ups and scale-ups. From aerospace to retail and construction, the programme covers the entire French economy.

France is exporting its model across Europe

This scaling-up does not stop at the borders. Inspired by the ‘Je choisis la French Tech’ model, the ‘Choose European Tech’ initiative is launching a joint effort with major European buyers – private groups, agencies and ministries – to channel their procurement towards the continent’s start-ups and scale-ups. Among the countries involved are Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Romania and Serbia. These communities aim to mobilise the innovation ecosystems in each of these countries to foster a European momentum around innovative procurement. At a time when the European Commission is embarking on its initial work on ‘European preference’, the initiative aims to bring about a cultural shift: to convince European buyers to direct their procurement towards the continent’s start-ups and scale-ups. What France has built up over three years is now being used as the foundation for a European ambition.