What DECA-BFC does

DECA-BFC is a publicly funded non-profit association (SIRET 83366149900016) headquartered at 64A rue Sully, 21000 Dijon, France, designated as the national public research incubator for the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. Founded in 2017 and operating with 1-10 employees, it serves academic entrepreneurs — students, PhD graduates, engineers, researchers, job seekers, and young graduates — seeking to transform scientific or technological research into innovative companies. Its core offering is the Parcours DECA-BFC programme, which combines tailored financial aid, entrepreneurship workshops, structured networking, and access to a network of more than 15 regional research laboratories and institutional partners; it also runs a specialised deeptech track under PUI BFC with periodic "Appels à Projet DEEPTECH IN BFC" calls. |

The business model is grant-based rather than commercial. DECA-BFC does not generate fee revenue or publish pricing; participants receive financial aid whose amounts and allocations are adapted to each project's needs. Funding flows from the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté regional council, and a federation of approximately 15+ institutional partners, including UBFC, Université de Bourgogne, Université de Franche-Comté, ENSAM, Institut Agro Dijon, UTBM, SUPMICROTECH, CNRS, BSB, and multiple local agglomérations (Grand Besançon, Dijon Métropole, Grand Dole, Grand Belfort, CUCM, Le Grand Chalon, PMA, Nevers). Leadership comprises Pascal Vairac (President) and Bénédicte Magerand (Director). Since inception, the incubator has supported 60+ projects spanning biotechnology, AI, hydrogen energy, advanced materials, medtech, agritech, robotics, and digital services, with activity reports published annually (2023, 2024) and DEEPTECH IN BFC calls running through at least call #6 in early 2026.

Name

DECA-BFC

Legal name

DECA-BFC

Website

https://deca-bfc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DECA-BFC is a publicly funded non-profit national research incubator based in Dijon, France, that helps academic entrepreneurs in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté transform scientific and deep-tech research projects into innovative companies via financial aid, workshops, and institutional network access.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Incubation Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Deep Tech / R&D Commercialization CVC (FSANAHAL)

Keywords

• Public research incubation
• Deeptech startup support
• Academic entrepreneurship
• Technology transfer services
• Pre-seed funding programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Dijon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Incubator Programme Services (in-kind): DECA-BFC does not generate commercial revenue. As a publicly funded association, it provides in-kind support — financial aid, workshops, networking, and mentorship — to incubated projects. Financial backing comes from government and institutional funders (Ministry of Higher Education and Research, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region, universities).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

DECA-BFC is a national public research incubator that helps students, PhDs, engineers, researchers, and other academic actors in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté transform their scientific and technological projects into innovative companies. It delivers the structured "Parcours DECA-BFC" programme, which combines entrepreneurship workshops, financial aid adapted to each project's needs, networking events, and deep-tech project support (PUI BFC), supported by periodic calls for projects ("DEEPTECH IN BFC").

Product overview

DECA-BFC is a national public research incubator based in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France. It is not a product company but rather an academic entrepreneurship support organization that provides a structured incubation pathway for deeptech startups. The core offering is the DECA-BFC Incubation Program, which guides entrepreneurs from idea to company formation through mentorship, financial support, workshops, and access to research laboratories. The organization runs periodic DEEPTECH IN BFC calls for projects to select and fund promising deeptech ventures.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DECA-BFC Incubation Program (Parcours DECA-BFC) Structured incubation programme for students, PhDs, engineers, researchers, employees, and job seekers in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté who want to transform a scientific or technological project into an innovative company. Includes personalised support, networking, entrepreneurship workshops, and per-project financial aid adapted to each project's needs.
• Ateliers de l'Entrepreneuriat (Entrepreneurship Workshops) Workshops delivered as part of the Parcours DECA-BFC programme, providing incubated entrepreneurs with the tools and posture of a business leader ("chef d'entreprise") as they transition from research to company creation.
• Accompagnement Financier (Financial Aid Support) Financial aid provided to incubated projects, allowing project leaders to finance external services (prestations externes) needed to develop their innovative venture. The amount and intended use are adapted to each project's specific needs.
• PUI BFC (Deep-tech Project Support) Dedicated deep-tech project support component within the Parcours DECA-BFC, sourcing and accompanying research-driven ventures through periodic "Appel à Projet DEEPTECH IN BFC" calls for projects.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• UBFC (Université Bourgogne-Franche-Comté)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUBFC is a key institutional partner and co-funder, representing the merged university of Burgundy and Franche-Comté, providing academic talent pipeline and research infrastructure.
• Université de Bourgogne (UB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University of Burgundy is an institutional funder and partner, contributing research expertise and student/PhD talent to the incubator's project pipeline.
• Université de Franche-Comté (UFC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University of Franche-Comté is an institutional funder and partner, contributing research expertise and student/PhD talent to the incubator's project pipeline.
• ENSAM (Arts et Métiers)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArts et Métiers provides engineering expertise and contributes to the incubator's deep-tech project ecosystem as an institutional funder and partner.
• Institut Agro DijonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitut Agro Dijon (formerly Agrosup Dijon) is an institutional funder and partner contributing agritech and food science expertise to the incubator's project portfolio.
• UTBM (Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUTBM is an institutional partner and funder contributing technology and engineering expertise to the incubator's deep-tech project ecosystem.
• SUPMICROTECH (ENSMM)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSUPMICROTECH (École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques) is an institutional partner contributing microtechnology and precision engineering expertise to incubated projects.
• CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCNRS is a major national research institution that contributes research laboratories and scientific expertise to DECA-BFC's incubated projects, appearing as a partner on multiple portfolio company pages (e.g., ECOLLANT).
• BSB (Burgundy School of Business)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBSB is an institutional funder and partner contributing business and management expertise to the incubator's ecosystem.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Sayens (SATT Grand Est): SATT (Société d'Accélération du Transfert de Technologies) operating in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and adjacent regions. Direct partner of DECA-BFC and the most comparable entity: both are public, regionally anchored vehicles for commercializing French public research output into startups.
• Paris&Co: Paris-based public incubator and innovation platform operating under the Paris city authority. Comparable structure: publicly funded, regional scope, runs structured incubation programmes with workshops, mentoring, and ecosystem access for early-stage founders.
• CNRS Innovation: CNRS's dedicated subsidiary for transferring research innovations into the market. Highly comparable: both monetize French public research output into startups, and CNRS is itself one of DECA-BFC's listed institutional partners.
• INSERM Transfert: Technology transfer office of France's national institute for health and medical research. Operates a comparable model of commercializing public research output and could host startups with overlapping biotech/medtech themes to DECA-BFC's medtech portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• Bpifrance: France's national public investment bank and innovation funder. While much larger and operating at national scale, Bpifrance overlaps with DECA-BFC in providing public funding, deep-tech support, and ecosystem coordination to French startups.
• Station F: World's largest startup campus based in Paris, founded by Xavier Niel. While privately led, it provides comparable incubation infrastructure (programmes, mentorship, events) and serves a similar early-stage founder segment across France.
• CEA Tech: The technology research and transfer arm of France's Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Comparable as a large public R&D commercialization vehicle feeding deeptech startup formation, though operating nationally and with internal labs.

Regional players

• H7 (Lyon): Lyon's flagship startup incubator housed in a historic building, run with public-private backing. Operates a similar model (incubation programme, community, events) but anchored in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region rather than Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
• Euratechnologies: Lille-based technology and startup hub backed by regional and EU public funding. Comparable as a French regional public-supported incubator with structured acceleration programmes and corporate connections.

Emerging players

• WILCO: French startup acceleration program (formerly ParisTech Entrepreneurs). Provides comparable early-stage acceleration services (mentorship, community, events) with a partial public mandate, although privately operated and Paris-anchored.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/decabfc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deca-bfc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments70 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DECA-BFC