Why choose France for the internationalization of your startup?

Inria Chile, and its Startup Studio program, which aims to boost new companies in Chile rooted in digital research and give them a global reach, has various mechanisms to support the internationalization of ventures that want to expand their business opportunities and start activities in the European market.

Specifically, France is a great country to start this journey, as it is the second largest European entrepreneurship ecosystem, offering endless opportunities for startups. Moreover, the word "Entrepreneur" is a French term.

Here we tell you about some of the benefits of internationalizing your venture in that country:

1. France ranks third in Europe in terms of availability of skilled and available workforce in R&D, according to the YEi Start France program of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

2. With its 69 million consumers and its privileged location in the center of Europe, which provides direct access to 500 million consumers and 22% of the world's GDP, it also facilitates access to the market of Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

3. Its procedures, simple and low-cost, make it the leading country in terms of efficiency regarding foreign trade. According to the World Bank's Doing Business 2020 report, it takes only 4 days to open a company in France.

4. France trains and attracts the largest number of engineers in Europe: 1 million engineers and 70,000 PhDs (41% non-French).

5. It is home to the world's largest startup campus, Station F, with over 1,000 startups within 34,000 square meters, 3,000 workstations, and over 30 acceleration programs.

6. France has more than 10,000 startups and 71 innovation clusters, and for each sector, there is a specialized cluster that adapts to your business.

7. It is home to 4 of the "Most Innovative Research Institutions in the World" (Inria, CEA, CNRS, and Inserm) and 3 of the "Top 100 Most Innovative Universities in the World 2019," according to Reuters.

8. Obtaining the French Tech visa for startup collaborators is a simple and fast process that allows international tech talents to obtain a 4-year residence permit without a diploma, sponsorship fees, or quota requirements.

9. France has an extremely productive workforce, meaning it has high labor productivity per hour.

10. Moreover, Paris is the top global destination in R&D and the second most attractive city in the world in terms of international investment volumes, according to the Global Cities Investment Monitor 2019.

The first step to Europe

France not only offers fast and easy access to neighboring countries but also houses Station F in Paris, which brings together over a thousand companies and is the world's largest startup campus. In this way, the country consolidates itself as the second-largest market in Europe and provides direct access to the European market, which has over 500 million consumers with high purchasing power.

Inria, together with the Economic and Cooperation and Cultural Action Services of the Embassy of France in Chile, Business France, the Franco-Chilean Chamber of Commerce, and the French Institute of Chile, created the Soft Landing Paris Europe program, which, as its first activity, opens a call for Chilean entrepreneurs to participate in the annual Trophée Startup award, sponsored by Corfo. The 2020 edition will support high-impact Chilean startups with a scientific and technological base, focusing on the healthcare field.

The two winning companies will go to France to participate in a mentoring and acceleration program with all expenses covered.

Among all applicants, five startups will be selected to participate in digital technology training sessions conducted by Inria in Chile through its Inria Academy program. They will also receive training from Business France on understanding the French market and its ecosystem.

The application period is from September 30th to November 1st, until 6:00 p.m., through the website: http://www.tropheestartup.cl/