Team France Export’: the new system is in place

The “Team France Export” brings together public key players supporting the international development of French businesses companies and private key players actors from the private sector offering solutions. The common aim is to offer SMEs and mid-size companies a clear, efficient and adapted system. The Team France Export therefore brings together a continuum of solutions, from preparation to international launch: from the French regions, in which there are “one-stop shops for export”, to foreign markets, where a “single Team France Export correspondent” directs SMEs towards solutions that meet their needs.

The three main measures put in place by Team France Export in the recent months are: 

• The creation of one-stop shops in France’s regions.

Business France, Bpifrance and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry have long offered personalized support to SMEs and mid-size companies so that international development becomes a substantial part of their business. From now on, a network of 250 “international advisors” with all the information and opportunities on foreign markets and by sector, brought together by Business France, is available to help businesses the companies. They will become the export points of contact for these businesses them, providing them with the best solutions, whether they be from the public or private sector, depending on their maturity and their means. Support provided by the regions, as well as financial solutions (loans, guarantees, etc.) from Bpifrance will be mobilized. The regions, which now have a central role in terms of strategy and support for exports, have shown a marked strong interest in this new organization from the very beginning. To date, eight Team France Export agreements have already been signed in the Normandie, Hauts de France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Pays de la Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Centre-Val de Loire, Nouvelle Aquitaine and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions. There are distinct regional variations in Ile de France (Paris region), Corsica and Occitanie. Regional adaptations are well advanced in Ile-de-France, Corsica, and Occitanie For example, the Normandie region, a pilot in this area, has been “fast-tracked” “accelerated”, with the Normandie Team France Export, 162 SMEs in just a few months, half of which exported occasionally or were complete novices. 

• The implementation of common tools.

A digital platform bringing together public support and financing offers for exports, and the best offers from the private sector, will be deployed from April. It will be backed by a database (customer relationship management) shared by the regions, Business France and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, ensuring that businesses receive customized support.  

• The establishment of a single Team France Export correspondent abroad.

The public export service abroad will gradually be handled by public or private key players, who will form a network of trusted third parties sharing a common offer, standards and information systems. In a certain number of countries in which Business France will no longer have offices responsible for carrying out an “export” activity, a competitive procedure has been put in place for Team France Export concession notices. To date, concessions have been awarded in Belgium, Hungary, Morocco, Norway, the Philippines and Singapore.

“The Team France Export reform is now on track. For SMEs and mid-size companies, it will mean simplification with end-to-end one-stop shops for businesses from their region to global markets. Their international advisor, who knows their business sector, will bring together the best solutions for their export project. This is the commitment made by the founders of the Team for ‘more exporters, more exports!’ 

Christophe Lecourtier, Chief Executive Officer at Business France

“The export battle begins in our regions. Team France Export wants to convince every business that international openness is a lever for growth, a catalyst for innovation and an element of attractiveness for securing talent. As a public export bank, Bpifrance offers solutions (loans, guarantees, insurance, equity) to solve all international development issues encountered by businesses. This continuum is supplemented by a support offer made up of training and evaluation tools (“Worldometer”), consulting missions to define an export development plan and study trips abroad.” 

Nicolas Dufourcq, Managing Director of Bpifrance

“The CCI-Business France alliance in the regions has created public export offices with all the skills to best support businesses in their international activities. The Chambers of Commerce and Industry provide their knowledge of businesses and ecosystems in the region, and Business France offers its expertise in business sectors and foreign markets. Associated with Bpifrance’s export financing tools, this grouping of public resources is a guarantee of efficiency, which is both reassuring and dynamic for businesses, in particular for VSEs/SMEs, which need to be supported and guided in their first steps towards exports.”

 Pierre Goguet, Chairman of CCI France

Team France Export in figures: 

• 250 international advisors throughout France (CCI, Business France, Bpifrance). 
• 750 international advisors abroad, spread across 65 countries. 
• 50 sectoral communities to know the market. 

The union of public key players supporting the international development of French businesses and private key players offering solutions, within a “Team France Export”, aims to offer SMEs and mid-size companies in France a clear, efficient and adapted system. It offers a continuum of solutions, from preparation to international launch: from the French regions, in which there are “one-stop shops for exports”* to foreign markets where a “single Team France Export correspondent”** will guide SMEs towards solutions that meet their needs. 

* These one-stop shops in the regions combine the strengths of the founding members of Team France: the Regions, the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Bpifrance and Business France. 

** The single Team France Export correspondent abroad can be Business France or a private key player in a certain number of countries targeted by public service concessions.