France announced the creation of its 25th unicorn at the start of 2022, beating the French government’s aim of having 25 unicorns by 2025. Fintech is integral to Europe, with the French ecosystem of 20,000 French startups recording some of the largest rounds of fundraising. French startups are now ranked top in the field of e-commerce.
With capital of more than €5.7 billion and a strong focus on ecological sobriety, Back Market, a platform for the resale of refurbished electronic devices, took first place in the European rankings in the sector (CB Insights, January 2022). It was followed by the Lithuanian company Vinted (secondhand clothes), and then the French brands Sorare (fantasy football, using non-fungible tokens) and Mirakl (online marketplace software).
The challenge is to maintain employment in France, with Back Market planning to hire 350 to 400 new employees across the country during the next year. More broadly, the ambition is to strengthen digital sovereignty on a European scale. The French government’s new aim, together with its German partners and 16 other European countries, is to create a fund of €10 billion by 2030, so as to create 10 technological giants in Europe.
This is part of the “France 2030” plan, presented by the Ministry for the Economy and Finance at the beginning of this month, and within the framework of the French Presidency of the European Union, along with the “Scale-up Europe” initiative.