It might serve to create a website, to purchase equipment or a product licence, to finance innovations or to train employees. The “France Num” guarantee operated by Bpifrance since 2021 allows French SMEs to have access to advantageous conditions to finance their investments and their digital transformation projects. In spring 2022, Bpifrance reinforces this system by launching its own dedicated loan, to be soon deployed through a digital platform.

€715 million in loans by 2023

Six banks (Banque Populaire, Banque Postale, Caisse d’Epargne, Crédit Agricole, Confédération du Crédit Mutuel and Memo Bank) are currently in charge of deploying these loans up to €50,000. Bpifrance guarantee 80 % of them, while the European Investment Fund as part of the COSME program (for the Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) and the « Juncker » plan intervene as counter-guarantors.

Thanks to the new system, Bpifrance and its banks’ partners will be able to grant €715 million in loans until the end of 2023. This guarantee is the second « France Num » program entrusted to Bpifrance by the French government, after the ‘Digital Transformation of VSEs/SMEs program’ deployed since September 2021. This free program for businesses is operated by 42 groups of structures (accountants, chambers of commerce and trades, professional unions …). They offer online or face-to-face training sessions on topics such as cybersecurity, electronic invoicing, and other practical topics.