Start-up: despite the crisis, Occitanie remains in the top 3 nationally for fundraising

Le producteur d'énergie photovoltaïque Amarenco, a réalisé la troisième plus grosse levée de fonds en France. DR – DR

The "Tech Insights" from the KPMG firm, which has just been released, shows that fundraising by regional start-ups is increasing in 2023, while the national total is in sharp decline. Mature projects, which attract investors, are at the origin.

The figure is surprising: despite the crisis affecting investment in start-ups, the Occitanie region remains in the top three of the best-off regions in France, behind Ile de France and Auvergne Rhone Alpes. The territory even shows progress: it has a total of 20 local operations, for a total of 549 M€, a clear increase compared to the 346 M€ collected in 2022. These are the results of the annual "Tech Insights" study, conducted each year by the firm KPMG (1).

Note that the progression of Occitanie is part of the massive drop in fundraising at the national level, which shows only 8.3 billion euros; annual for 281 lifts, against 12.3 billion euros; for 2022 on 365 operations. The study notes that the year is that of "maturity" for the largest start-ups, which show better results than small ones, whose amounts raised are decreasing, showing a drop of 26% in their funds raised compared to 2022.

The third largest French lift carried out in Occitanie

Thus, the 540 M€ raised in the region are mainly driven by the record raising of 300 M€ carried out by Amarenco, manufacturer of photovoltaic parks based in Tarn, third largest fundraising of the year in France. It clearly illustrates the main trends of the year: "We see that the most mature projects earn the most, mainly those in the field of 'sustainability& ;#39; (or sustainability tech) like this, which is the second sector of the year after 'mobility tech', mobility sector, dominated at European level by the raising of 2 Bn € of the Verkor company, for its electric battery factory" comments Jean-Pierre Valensi, who led the study.

The largest fundraisings carried out in Occitanie (source: KPMG)). KPMG/DR – KPMG/DR

Strong support from the Region

He also analyzes the reasons for this progression in Occitanie: "We see that the Region supports its tech projects a lot, which makes things easier because the territory is rich in industries and regional investors."Such markers make things easier for national investors, who note the presence of more mature projects in the region than in other territories, facilitating investments.

Such an observation does not prevent the region from having "the defects of its qualities", points Jean-Pierre Valensi. It thus ensures that the territory presents a "real contrast" geographically, with concentrated projects such as the Halle in Toulouse or the Halle de l& #39;Innovation in Montpellier, equipment which facilitates communication and the notoriety of projects, but nevertheless denotes a "real concentration" of the region around of some of its territories, which shows the "need to develop other projects, in other regional territories, such as rural areas."

Also read:Hind Emad: "The Halle de l'Innovation is at the heart of the development of start-ups in Montpellier"

In this area, it illustrates the fact that "small lifts, which may simply be regional, are not in themselves a problem, because they initiate the pump which will lead to greater lifts, at the national or even international level."

(1): Methodology: the "Tech Insights" 2023 lists the fundraising of French technological companies, unlisted, independent of corporate groups and less than 20 years old, having carried out an operation of more than 3 M€, by private investment (off market), in Equity, between January and December 2023. For operations that mix Equity and Debt, the total of the operation is recorded. The data analyzed in this study is based on data from the Capital IQ and Dealroom sites.

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