Financing export and international growth

Bpifrance Assurance Export's Assurance Prospection shares the risk of commercial failure: it covers part of the expenses incurred to prospect a market where the company is not yet significantly established, and its repayment depends on the export revenue subsequently generated. The catalog lists two entries for this scheme, describing different terms: the exact conditions should be confirmed against the offer currently in force.

Before prospecting, Bpifrance's Diag Business International helps assess a target market: according to the catalog, the assessment costs €7,650 excl. tax, of which 47.7% is covered for eligible SMEs (at least €2M in revenue). Regions also offer export vouchers: the Région Grand Est's voucher, for example, covers 50% of export project expenses, up to a limit of €10,000.

The Volontariat International en Entreprise (VIE), managed by Business France, allows a young professional to be assigned abroad, at a subsidiary or a partner company. Several regions co-finance these assignments or the hiring of an export manager; the catalog lists them among the regional grants for this stage.

Once a contract is signed, the needs shift to its execution. The Assurance Préfinancement Export covers the bank that finances production before payment, up to 80% for companies with revenue not exceeding €300M. The Crédit Export Fournisseur allows payment terms to be granted to a foreign buyer. To finance international development as a whole, the Prêt Croissance International lends from €30,000 to €5,000,000 over 3 to 7 years, with no collateral required.