French Tech: the rise of start-up associations

Impossible to miss. La Ferme Digitale, the association that brings together French agritech start-ups, has been showing off for almost a week at the Paris Agricultural Show. The 800 square meters that have been reserved for it reflect its growing power: 60 young shoots have set up their stands in the heart of Hall 4 of the Exhibition Center.

The opportunity to present their new products, to discuss with customers and to organize 80 conferences in nine days. A marathon and, at the same time, a great source of pride for Jérôme Le Roy, the president of this association which remembers the lean years.

“We were five start-up founders when they were created in 2016,” slips the boss of Weenat, a connected weather solution for the agricultural world. The objective was to federate an embryonic and underfunded ecosystem. This is no longer the case. Today, 120 companies are members of the Digital Farm and some of its representatives are members of the FT120 (Agriconomie) or the Next40 (Ynsect), the two flagship indices of French Tech.

All verticals concerned
If France Digitale has accompanied the rise of French Tech, many sectoral associations have emerged in recent years. One of the oldest and most structured is France Fintech. It publishes benchmark studies on financial start-ups and has been organizing Fintech R:Evolution for eight years, a key event in the sector. The association even has foreign members, such as Adyen or Stripe.

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