Financial situation of start-ups in 2021

July 10, 2022 | Publications

In an economic context of post-Covid rebound, the 2021 turnover of start-ups jumped by 30% over one year and their workforce by 19% compared to 2020. Start-ups are supported in their growth by the investors who have strongly reinforced their presence in equity (+58%). Bank financing increased by 10% over the period. Start-ups have therefore preserved and strengthened their cash position, which stood at almost €12 billion at the end of 2021 (+46%). A situation favorable to the pursuit of a dynamic trajectory. 

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Focus: French Fintech at the top of the growth podium
 
The turnover of the Fintechs in the sample (100 companies, excluding credit institutions subject to approval by the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority, ACPR) increased by 45% in 2021 (+32% in 2020) and positions this sector in top of the growth podium. This dynamic is driven by highly internationalized scale-ups which have doubled their share of export turnover between 2020 and 2021: 10 scale-ups generate 53% of the turnover of the companies under review; 49% of their turnover comes from export.
 
According to France FinTech, the professional association of French fintech, insurtech and regtech, finance start-ups raised nearly 2,3 billion euros in 2021, i.e. 174% more than in 2020.
 
In this context, the shareholders' equity of the Fintechs in the study increased significantly (+118%) as well as the available cash, up 83% to more than €1.7 billion. These variations are nearly twice as high as those observed for Tech as a whole.
 
According to Alain Clot, President of France Fintech, “France has a real sector of excellence here, which has brought out several international champions. Our ecosystem already has 11 unicorns, is now the second in Europe and one of the fastest growing. Our current challenges are, in addition to coping with a particularly uncertain global economic environment, reaching critical size, making the models economically viable and financing, as much as possible by the French and European markets, the big fundraising tickets that justifies our sustained development. »

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