Bpifrance Innovation Grant

Do you have an innovative idea just waiting to take off? Don’t let your innovation project be stifled by the costs of a feasibility study! Find out how Bpifrance’s innovation grant can help you boost your competitiveness and unlock your startup’s potential.

Designed for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies, this funding program—formerly known as the Innovation Feasibility Grant (AFI)—can provide up to €50,000 for an innovation project lasting 6 to 24 months.

SMEs and mid-sized companies: innovative projects eligible for innovation feasibility grants

At every stage of their innovation process, Bpifrance supports startups, microbusinesses, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and mid-sized companies with tailored support solutions and a wide range of innovation financing programs. The innovation grant is specifically designed for SMEs and mid-sized companies. It aims to encourage these businesses to innovate by helping them validate the feasibility of their innovative projects.

Any technological, artistic, or cultural innovation project may be eligible for this Innovation Feasibility Grant. Bpifrance’s innovation grant supports research, development, and innovation (RDI) projects that demonstrate strong potential for commercialization or industrialization. This funding may also be granted to the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI), particularly to SMEs and mid-sized companies innovating in the fields of video games, film, audiovisual production, or fashion. Finally, the innovation grant can support innovative projects in the agri-food industry.

Validating the feasibility of an innovation: an essential step for startups

The feasibility and opportunity study is a crucial phase in any innovation process, as it helps determine the technical, economic, and commercial viability of the project before committing significant resources. Innovative startups therefore need to bring new skills into their innovation teams so they can validate each of the many components of their project: business development and marketing, technical and economic feasibility, strategic positioning, intellectual property, partner search, and more.

However, from the moment a company is founded through to the implementation of the innovation process in a rapidly growing startup, the equity capital of young innovative companies is very often insufficient.

Research and Development Projects: What Expenses Can Be Covered by the Innovation Grant?

_{Bpifrance’s Innovation Feasibility Grant takes the form of a grant that can cover up to 70% of expenses related to the feasibility of the innovation, up to a maximum of €50,000.}

Eligible expenses primarily include studies to assess the potential of the innovation project, aimed at highlighting its opportunities and risks and identifying the resources needed to bring it to fruition. Also eligible are studies on strategic positioning, validation of the project’s technical and economic feasibility, design processes, and the recruitment of R&D executives.

This funding supports small and medium-sized enterprises through an innovation program lasting between 6 and 24 months, thereby helping to validate the feasibility of even the most ambitious innovation projects.

The Bpifrance Innovation Grant thus represents a unique opportunity to support innovative early-stage companies as their innovation projects reach the maturation phase. The competitiveness of future startups depends on this crucial phase of validating the feasibility of their innovation.

From the creation of innovative startups to the global expansion of technology leaders, Bpifrance offers a wide range of innovation financing programs. The Investment for the Future Program (PIA), now known as the France 2030 Plan, coordinates these various innovation initiatives through numerous innovation competitions and calls for proposals.

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