THE BLOG

Bpifrance Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur supported 5,426 companies in 2022

Nicolas Magenties, Regional Director of Bpifrance Marseille, presented the 2022 activity report of Bpifrance Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.

He discussed Bpifrance’s support for companies in the region during a period of economic recovery, with a focus on providing priority support to the industry, technological innovation, and energy and environmental transition.

Bpifrance’s actions are carried out through 8 business areas: Financing, Guarantees, Innovation Financing, Direct Investment and Fund of Funds Investment, International, Support and Creation.

Over the past 10 years, Bpifrance Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur has financed 41,100 companies for a total amount of €16 billion.

In 2022, Bpifrance Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur supported 5,426 companies for a total of €1.7 billion, enabling the mobilization of nearly €4.6 billion in public and private financing.

It was a year marked by the stabilization of medium and long-term financing in the Sud-Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. A total of €695 million was injected into 363 companies to finance development projects. Loans with no guarantee, a flagship product of the bank’s network, represented €255 million disbursed in favor of 199 development projects, including €41 million in Climate Loans that helped finance projects improving the environmental and energy impact of companies. The short-term financing (+3%) regained its momentum with a deployment of €473 million.

Bpifrance PACA also reported strong growth in the Guarantee activity in the Sud-Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, amplifying the rebound observed in 2021. Indeed, guaranteed loans are up 20%, and the number of beneficiary companies as well as the level of risk assumed by Bpifrance are growing, by +51% and +34%, respectively.

The bank for entrepreneurs announced a strong performance in innovation financing for the year 2022, with a total of €182 million deployed, thanks to the implementation of France 2030, the Deeptech Plan, as well as the launch of the Startups and Industrial SME Plan. 477 Regional companies have thus benefited from Bpifrance’s support to develop their innovation projects, modernize their technological equipment, or increase their production capacity in France. These supports were granted to them through regional aid (grants, R&D aid, innovation loans without guarantee, territorial component of France 2030…), national calls for projects (i-Lab, i-Demo, i-Nov, and 1ère Usine) or acceleration strategies of the directed component of France 2030 and the national component of France 2030.

Bpifrance PACA’s equity activity covers Innovation Capital, Development Capital in SMEs, ETIs and large groups, as well as investment in Fund of Funds. Equity investment activity (both direct and indirect investments) at the national level, the equity investment activity has shown strong growth (+21%) with €4.4 billion deployed. Investment in Innovation Capital has shown a strong increase in the Sud-Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region and reached €15 million for the year (+80% compared to 2021). At the national level, the Fund of Funds business maintains its momentum in favor of the growth of French private investment funds, injecting over €1.6 billion into 87 private investment funds, including 70 first-time investments.

Bpifrance’s Export activity, with €33 billion, has increased by 58% compared to 2021, driven in part by the Credit Insurance linked to International Project Guarantees, and International Growth Loans. Regarding support for exports, the Team France Export partnership has supported 3,876 companies, representing a growth of +28%.

It should be noted that there is strong momentum across all components of the Support business. Nearly 3,500 companies have been accelerated since the program’s launch in 2015, including 195 in the Sud-Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region.. The Climate mechanisms aimed at promoting energy and environmental transition (Eco-Flux Diagnosis, Decarbon’Action, and Perf’Immo) have shown strong growth (+66%) at the national level.

In a context of strong momentum for business creation in France, the year was marked by an increase in the number of project holders financed, with more than 2,240 Honorary Loans distributed in the region.

The strong mobilization of the Sud-Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region and Bpifrance to support the recovery of companies in its territory following the health crisis has made it possible to mobilize nearly €60 million, benefiting 167 regional companies.