A guide to Bpifrance debt financing
At the beginning of their startup journey, entrepreneurs often ask us how our colleagues at Bpifrance Financement can support them. The most asked questions are: who should I contact? How much can I hope for? When is the best time? Am I eligible? etc. Bpifrance Financement is a major player in the financing of innovative projects. They offer a wide range of support such as loans, subsidies, guarantees, and finding your way around can become complex.
Here is a quick guide to Bpifrance debt financing 👇
An important thing to remember is that Bpifrance Financement aims at being part of a real financing continuum to support the company from its incorporation and throughout its life. To learn some more on the difference between the investment and financing activities at Bpifrance, you can read 👉 this post.
A typical typical financing journey can look like this :
- Creation — An initial grant of €30k as part of the Bourse French tech, to support the launch (tech development and key people). This grant will be capped at the amount of the other combined capital (from fundraisings or from the founders).
- Pre seed / friends & family — At the time of the first fundraising (around €300k to €500k), usually raised with friends & family or business angels, an innovation tech loan (“prêt innovation R&D”) for financing R&D and/or a seed loan (“prêt d’amorçage”) for commercial development can be granted with tickets ranging from €50k to €1.5m. These are long-term loans, without bank warranties (when you prepare to raise funds while continuing to develop your business). The seed loan is like a bridge before a new fundraising round to avoid running out of cash.
- Seed/Series A — a seed investment loan (“prêt d’amorçage investissement”) provides a non-dilutive complement up to a maximum of 50% of the total capital raised.
- Finally, a company that is approaching profitability and is over 3 years old, can apply for an innovation loan (“prêt innovation”) to extend its growth trajectory.
Some products can be deployed throughout the life of the company, e.g. the “Avance+” which is a short term advance. Bpifrance Financement can also help you develop internationally since one of its teams is dedicated to this matter. Products like the “aide à l’export”, “credit export” or “assurance export” are often valuable support for companies with such challenges.
It is important to point out that these are packaged products, without real room for negotiation on the terms, but that are designed to fit each start-up’s stage.
Key points to remember?
🐣 First of all, don’t wait to contact a “chargé d’affaires” ! As soon as you are registered and have a Kbis, go directly to bel.bpifrance.fr to meet your contact point. He will be able to direct you to the best package according to your status and your needs. He will also be able to put you in touch with other teams within Bpifrance: the dealflow team, a pool of experts on specific topics or an investment team.
🤷♂️ Each project is different — your chargé d’affaires knows exactly what best fits your needs ! You can trust them; their only aim is to support you as best as possible. If the proposed products are standardized, each company will always be the subject of a 360° analysis. You don’t need to apply specifically for a package, your contact will show you how it works and what you can ask for.
According to Bpifrance’s strategic orientations (deeptech, climate issues…), there are also more sector-based aids. For instance, deeptech labelled companies will benefit from tailor-made support, such as the “Aide au développement deeptech”.
👨👧👧 Finally, getting at the same time a support from a private bank, an equity fundraising and some Bpifrance financing will probably be a great help to succeed.
So, without further ado, go to bel.bpifrance.fr to benefit from the best support and find out how to boost your business. See you there!
