Bpifrance and Invitalia announce a joint call for start-up development

On the occasion of the Franco-Italian Forum, held on 24 July 2025 in Paris at the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, Bpifrance, the French public investment bank, and Invitalia announced the first call for innovative projects presented by companies from the two countries, which will open in September 2025. 

The launch of the call is part of a broader Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2024 by Bpifrance and Invitalia to support the cross-border development of start-ups and their access to the partner country's market. It implements the provisions of the ‘Treaty between the Italian Republic and the French Republic for Enhanced Bilateral Cooperation’, also referred to as the ‘Quirinale Treaty’.

The projects covered by the call should:

• Be presented jointly by a French and an Italian company
• Be aimed at short-term commercialisation of an innovative product or service
• Be based on a solid partnership capable of accelerating the development and commercialisation of its products or services in a broader market

The French and Italian partner companies of the selected projects will thus be eligible for funding from Bpifrance and Invitalia, according to their respective eligibility conditions.

Innovative companies wishing to embark on a project with a cross-border industrial partner, and proposing effective R&D collaborations, are encouraged to participate with their partners.

Bpifrance and Invitalia are committed to promoting and strengthening economic ties between France and Italy, and increasing development opportunities open to companies from their respective countries.

Use of the EuroQuity platform, created in 2008 by Bpifrance to connect innovation ecosystems, will facilitate contact between start-ups, investors and their business partners.

'With the agreement signed between Invitalia and Bpifrance, the support for innovative start-ups provided by the Smart&Start Italia programme now includes a concrete opportunity for international cooperation - commented Invitalia CEO Bernardo Mattarella. The agreement supports joint innovation projects between Italian start-ups and French companies, enhancing the innovation generated by the collaboration between the two countries’ ecosystems, fostering capital-attracting aggregations, and increasing competitiveness at the European level.' 

'With Invitalia, we are taking a decisive step in French-Italian economic cooperation - commented Bpifrance Director General Nicolas Dufourcq. This first call offers start-ups and SMEs from our two countries a concrete opportunity to innovate together, accelerate their growth and conquer new markets. In an international context, marked by increasingly fierce competition, it is now more essential than ever to build strong industrial and technological alliances at European level. This initiative fully embodies that ambition: to bring out a lasting, market-oriented partnerships supported by entrepreneurs on a transalpine scale.'