Invest in France

What Invest in France does

Business France is the French national agency operating under the Ministry for the Economy and Finance that attracts foreign direct investment into France and supports French companies' international expansion. Created in 2013 through the merger of UBIFRANCE (export support) and AFII (Agence Française pour les Investissements Internationaux), the agency is constituted as an EPIC (Établissement Public Industriel et Commercial) with approximately 1,400 collaborators operating both in France and through a network of offices stationed abroad. Its core mission is to prospect foreign investment projects that create jobs and value on French territory and to accompany foreign companies through the establishment process, identifying suitable territories and navigating regulatory and operational requirements.

The agency's offerings span the investor and exporter lifecycles. For inbound investors, it operates the Welcome digital platform (welcometofrance.fr), runs the Choose France annual investor event (since 2018), and delivers the Attractivités Formations training programs for regional economic development actors. For French exporters, it runs Team France Export and France 2030 Export, and operates the V.I.E (Volontariat International en Entreprise) international talent program. Distribution is anchored in a global field network that met 4,010 foreign companies in 2025 and supported the announcement of 1,878 foreign investment projects (59% accompanied by Business France teams), projecting 47,734 jobs.

Business France is publicly funded and provides its services free of charge; it does not generate commercial revenue and has no equity ownership or shareholders. Leadership includes Guillaume Basset as Acting General Delegate for Investment and Louise Quesnel as Director of the Prospecting, Enterprises and Projects department. Strategic partnerships — most notably with EDF (announced 2026-07-03) — extend the agency's reach into specific industrial verticals including energy transition. France has held the #1 ranking in Europe for foreign investment attractiveness since 2019 per the EY Attractiveness Survey 2025, a positioning Business France directly leverages.

Name

Invest in France

Legal name

Business France

Website

https://investinfrance.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Business France is a French government agency under the Ministry for the Economy and Finance that attracts foreign investment and supports French export expansion. With 1,400 staff worldwide, it prospects foreign investors, accompanies them through establishment, and operates the Welcome platform, Choose France event, and Team France Export.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Foreign Investment Promotion Services

NAICS

International Affairs (928120)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Investment Promotion & FDI Facilitation (BPADAMAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Development Cooperation & Foreign Aid Administration (BPAIAIAG)

Keywords

• Foreign investment promotion
• Investment attraction services
• Export development support
• International business consulting
• Territorial economic development

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public funding: Business France operates as a French public agency funded by the French government to promote foreign investment in France and support French companies in their international expansion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Business France (operating as Invest in France) is a French national public agency that prospects foreign investment projects and accompanies international companies throughout their establishment process in France. With 1,400 collaborators worldwide, it connects foreign investors with French territories, identifies suitable projects for French regions, and provides end-to-end support from initial prospecting through project completion. The agency also supports French companies seeking international expansion through export programs.

Product overview

Business France operates as a unified service platform connecting foreign investment attraction with French export support. The core offerings include: the Welcome platform (welcometofrance.fr) for guiding foreign companies establishing operations in France; the annual Choose France event since 2018; Team France Export and France 2030 Export for French companies going international; V.I.E (Volontariat International en Entreprise) for recruiting young international talent; and Attractivité Formations for training economic development professionals. With 1,400+ collaborators worldwide, Business France prospects foreign investment projects and accompanies companies throughout their establishment process in France.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Welcome: The Welcome platform by Business France accompanies foreign companies in their establishment and development in France (welcometofrance.fr).
• Choose France
• Team France Export
• France 2030 Export

Products and services

• Welcome Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,878 foreign investment projects announced in 2025 with 59% supported by Business France teams
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EDFcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 July 2026Business France and EDF strengthened their partnership to serve France's economic attractiveness. EDF collaborates with Business France to attract international investors and support economic development initiatives in France.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IDA Ireland: Ireland's inward-investment agency with a global mandate to attract foreign companies. Highly effective comparable focused on FDI attraction with strong sector specializations (tech, pharma, financial services).
• SelectUSA: US government program within the Department of Commerce promoting and facilitating business investment in the United States. Largest comparable national FDI-attraction program globally.
• Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB): Singaporean statutory board driving investment promotion and industrial policy. Widely regarded as the gold-standard peer for execution, sector targeting, and investor aftercare.
• Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE): Swiss official consultancy for export promotion and inward investment, comparable in scope and structure though focused on a non-EU, non-Euro jurisdiction.
• Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO): Japanese government-related organization promoting trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. Comparable dual export-promotion and FDI-attraction mandate with global office network.
• ICEX Spain Trade and Investment: Spanish public business entity supporting Spanish companies' internationalization and attracting foreign investment to Spain. Closest Iberian peer with similar public-agency structure.
• Invest Hong Kong: Hong Kong government department dedicated to attracting foreign direct investment. Comparable APAC-focused FDI-promotion mandate with strong sector specialization.
• Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI): Germany's national investment-promotion agency, advising foreign companies on market entry into Germany. Directly comparable mandate, headcount scale, and EU-level competition for FDI.
• Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA): Dutch national agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs tasked with attracting foreign companies to the Netherlands. Directly comparable in mandate, scale, and EU competition dynamics.
• UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT): UK government body responsible for trade promotion and inward investment, operating a global network of offices. Closest large-European peer competing for the same FDI pipeline.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/businessfrance
• YouTubeyoutube.com/BusinessFrance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/business-france
• Instagraminstagram.com/businessfrance

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

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Invest in France