The French Tech’s efforts to promote diversity in entrepreneurship are impressively inclusive, but would benefit from more funding and further analysis of the outcomes.

By Stanley Turner Fowler, Samuele Bacci, and Pablo Bousard

In an effort to promote digital startups and job creation as well as fostering growth through innovation, the French government launched ‘La French Tech' in 2013. This broad movement aims to develop an entrepreneurial ecosystem, both in metropolitan France and internationally. It also serves as a showcase for the promotion of inclusive and diverse entrepreneurship. One of the main policies of this comprehensive ecosystem is the ‘French Tech Tremplin’, which is an incubator scheme that provides selected projects across France with training and financial support. Here, we’ll analyse the design of the policy, focus on its inclusive characteristics, and look at how it could be improved.

What is the Tremplin?

The Tremplin (which translates as a ‘springboard’) was launched in 2019 (building on an earlier programme called French Tech Diversité) and is organised in two stages. The first - ‘Preparation' - is centred around acquiring the skills necessary to lead the participants’ projects, then being linked with a network of entrepreneurs and mentors. The second - 'Incubation' - aims to provide young startups with the tools to achieve rapid growth by placing them with partner incubators and accelerators. Throughout, Tremplin includes specific training, support, and funding across thirteen hubs. Candidates are selected for their project and background.

The Tremplin was initiated as an alternative means to create startups in a highly unequal business landscape in France. La French Tech has sorely lacked the diversity it prides itself on, with 90% of startups founded by men and 71% of founders coming from the elite French 'grandes écoles'.

The French Tech Tremplin is supposed to target disadvantaged people who lack financial opportunities, network and training. This programme is therefore aimed at recipients of social aid, scholarship holders, inhabitants of priority neighbourhoods, and refugees. A glance at the details of the first cohort of 145 participants reveals the diversity of the people selected - both in terms of gender and geographical location. This first impression will need to be nuanced based on the actual level of support given to these entrepreneurs and the scheme’s future outcomes. This analysis acknowledges the difficulty to assess such a recent policy as we do not have access to empirical evidence on the success of the cohort’s startups. Nevertheless, we will analyse the policy goals and use other evidence to take a critical look at the policy.

How inclusive is the Tremplin?

To assess the inclusivity of the French Tech Tremplin, we are using four dimensions of inclusiveness identified in Nesta’s framework on inclusiveness in innovation policy.

• Overall objectives: unlike many innovation promotion policies and 'La French Tech' as a whole, the Tremplin is not directly concerned with economic growth. Rather, it aims to even the entrepreneurship playing field and increase the number of people who can contribute to the growth of the French national innovation ecosystem.
• Direction of innovation: the Tremplin does not aim to support specific sectors, since its aim is to make innovation inclusive by engaging people from underrepresented groups in the innovation process. However, many of the projects in the first cohort are about sustainability and have the goal of helping small local enterprises in different parts of France. So, the Tremplin does influence the direction of innovation as it gives priority to aspiring entrepreneurs that have ideas on how to foster local economic development in a sustainable way who may not have otherwise received support.
• Participation in innovation: the core mission of this program is to remove the structural obstacles that impedes entrepreneurial talent from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. For instance, the Tremplin tries to tackle the geographic inequalities by including those who reside in designated poorer areas as part of its eligibility criteria. To make sure opportunities are available outside of the largest cities, several local French Tech headquarters have been created across the country to run the programs and offer a co-working space.
• Governance of innovation: the Tremplin fails to include measures to broaden participation in the governance of entrepreneurship policy. Nevertheless, we can expect that by giving the chance to people from underrepresented groups to become entrepreneurs, in the future they may become mentors for future cohorts and will be able to shape the priorities of innovation.

Ways in which it could be improved

The Tremplin should be scaled up while using the current participants as future mentors to increase the overall impact of the policy, while also improving the governance of innovation. According to startups research, a key part of the incubator / accelerator experience is the networking - both with peers and potential investors. The limited cohort size (145 participants) spread across 13 different locations limits the possibility for network effects among the participants. The Tremplin’s funding should be increased so that cohort sizes can be expanded. To ensure the program remains inclusive while it is scaled up, current participants should be encouraged to become mentors and participate in the governance and design of future iterations of the program.

Childcare grants and increased flexibility for participants are required to bolster the inclusiveness of the Tremplin. Though the stated goals for the participation of innovation are positive, the reality means that potential participants with care commitments may be unable to attend the program. Only 5000 EUR of the 20,000 EUR grant can be used for living expenses, which is unlikely to be sufficient for many participants - but particularly those living with others they have to support or care for. The 35 hour a week minimum time commitment makes it more difficult for parents and carers to participate.

More data is needed to fully assess the success of the program. Although the identity of the 145 participants is published, the French Tech should disclose what percentage of participants are refugees, scholarship recipients, or come from under-privileged areas to see which groups they are succeeding in attracting to the program. In addition, a framework to analyse the effectiveness of the policy in promoting inclusive entrepreneurship is needed. This would expand upon the existing Nesta framework that analyses goals and policy design, but not outcomes.

Summary

Given the privileged backgrounds of many in the French startup scene the Tremplin’s support for under-represented entrepreneurs is key. We believe the policy’s design is inclusive according to most of the Nesta framework. Nevertheless, the Tremplin's governance should be more inclusive and more funding is needed to scale up the program and provide larger living grants. Future research will be needed to assess whether the Tremplin is successful in equipping entrepreneurs with the skills their startups need to succeed.

The city of Medellin surpassed all expectations by launching an ambitious and successful innovation promotion initiative to foster city-wide social and economic development. Despite performing admirably in promoting inclusive innovation, there are a few areas in which the initiative has come up short.

By Biyya Mansoer, Jessica Nitiema, Josefin Nordahl, Maria Jané Marimon & Mark Natanawan

What is Ruta N?

In 2009, the innovation agency 'Ruta N' was created in Medellin, Colombia. Since its inception, Ruta N has been a lead actor in carrying out Medellin’s Science, Technology and Innovation Plan (2011-2021). Ruta N has spearheaded a variety of initiatives over the years, ranging from the construction of an 'innovation district' in the city to foster innovative entrepreneurship locally, to the creation of classes to educate and train future professionals in innovative sectors. Ruta N has been commended as “a catalyst for innovation in Medellin” and “a model of success for both Colombia and for Latin America in general” by the OECD.

While not disputing the general success of Ruta N in the last decade, we look to provide an analysis of the innovation policies carried out by the agency through the lens of the inclusive innovation framework developed by Nesta. In doing so, we hope to encourage dialogue on how their work can be improved and built upon in the future to promote innovation in a way that is inclusive towards and benefits all of Medellin’s society.

How inclusive is Ruta N?

• Overall objectives: The city’s Strategic Science, Technology, and Innovation Plan has two established goals: (1) “Development of emerging businesses that encourage the energy, health, and ICT industries” and (2) “Development of innovative capabilities with which to strengthen and contribute to the efficiency and quality of the Regional Innovation System”. Within these two goals, there is no specific mention of anything related to inclusive innovation, such as promoting sustainability, advancing equality, or encouraging participation in innovation activities.
• Direction of Innovation: In 2018, Ruta N helped bring around $770,000 USD in investment to 157 initiatives relating to innovation and social enterprise. Some of the programs include Telesalud, reaching 98% of the districts in the Department of Antioquia and CIEMTO, which has helped more than 4,000 people since being introduced. In addition, a bracelet was also developed to help women with poor access to healthcare track their pregnancies according to the Ruta N website. These programs have helped address the needs of people from disadvantaged groups when it comes to issues such as access to healthcare.
• Participation in Innovation: Research has documented how Ruta N's Medellinovation District, an urban complex created to be a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship for the city, helped bring economic activity to an area of Medellin which had historically been one of the poorest in the city. Programs such as 250 mujeres en TIC, which seeks to teach ICT skills to women, and Horizontes, which connects underprivileged students to training programmes in different STEM subjects, have helped include traditionally underrepresented groups in Medellin’s innovation economy. Meanwhile, Ruta N’s MiMedellin initiative has sought to involve the city’s general population in planning innovation related city projects through a digital platform in which the public’s opinions and ideas can be shared. Finally, alongside encouraging larger multinational enterprises to set up shop in the city, Ruta N has also launched initiatives to support new startups and small and medium-sized enterprises. However, Ruta N’s efforts have not necessarily been geared towards helping all sections of the Medellin economy. Ruta N’s website clearly states that support for new enterprises is prioritised for firms from a few key sectors: ICT, health, and energy. On the same webpage, it’s recommended that firms from traditional sectors of the Medellin economy such as manufacturing and agriculture seek assistance from other city institutions besides Ruta N. Therefore, it seems that they neglect significant portions of the Medellin economy in favor of supporting a few favoured industries when it comes to innovation promotion.
• Governance of innovation: Ruta N was created as a public entity, but it has allowed secondary stakeholders from knowledge institutions, the private science and technology sector, and civil society to provide significant input when it comes to crafting its innovation policies. This multi-stakeholder strategy has allowed a diverse cast of actors from Medellin society to guide and contribute to the mission of Ruta N. The MiMedellin Platform has also been a great example of multi-stakeholder co-creation, with citizens being involved in the discussion around projects regarding the development of the city. We did, however, notice at least one deficiency in this area. It appears that there aren’t any significant measures put into place to mitigate the risks of innovation with Ruta N’s activities. Whether it be ensuring projects don’t harm the environment or investigating the potential harmful side effects of technology for society, Ruta N should concern itself with trying to systematically manage the risks of the innovation it is working to produce.

Ways in which it can be improved

Medellin’s innovation policy has been inclusive in many ways with regards to direction of innovation, participation in innovation, and its governance. However, there are shortcomings that should be addressed. The city government can start by making the promotion of inclusive innovation a key policy objective of Medellin going into the future. Ruta N should also consider opening up support for innovation among enterprises in the traditional sectors of Medellin’s economy. Finally, the creation of a governing body concerned with sustainability, safety, and social impact to help oversee Ruta N could assist with mitigating the risks of the innovations they promote. In doing so, Medellin can promote innovation in a way that is more sustainable, beneficial for all, and inclusive towards all.