Entrepreneurial support: Still Need to Be Made More Accessible
Howmany entrepreneurs in France actually receive support? TV shows like “Who Wants to Be My Partner?” highlight certain aspects of this and sometimes give the impression that this practice is the exclusive domain of successful businesspeople, and that it’s only available to entrepreneurs with high-growth potential.
Karim Messeghem, University of Montpellier; Constance Banc, University of Montpellier; Justine Valette, University of Montpellier and Sophie Casanova, University of Montpellier
When it comes to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, France doesn’t seem to be doing too badly on the global stage. According toa study by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, it currently ranksfifthamong the countries that do the most to promote and support entrepreneurship through government initiatives. But what is the reality? How many people actually benefit from this support?
Entrepreneurialsupport aims to create conditions conducive to the emergence and success of entrepreneurial projects. It draws on a variety of methods, such as mentoring, and structures, such as accelerators. More specifically, it can be defined as a process organized by a third party, designed to be long-term, and enabling a project leader or entrepreneur to benefit from a learning environment, access to resources, networking opportunities, services, and decision-making support.
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Over the past decade, France has seen an unprecedented increase in the number of people starting businesses. A recent study by the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Lab at Labex Entreprendre sought to objectively assess the reality of the support available to them.
Less than a quarter of the entrepreneurs receiving support
We drew on data collected as part of the 2023 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey, to which we added questions about support services. The study focused on what might be called “emerging” entrepreneurs—that is, those who had started a business within the three and a half years prior to the survey. They represent 10.8% of the population aged 18 to 64.
The findings show that 23.5% of emerging entrepreneurs receive support. This rate is very close to the one measured as part ofthe French Entrepreneurship Index in 2023. In this study, the proportion of project leaders who “sought support and received it” stands at 22%. In other words, less than a quarter of emerging entrepreneurs currently receive support.
Entrepreneurial support can take many forms. Emerging entrepreneurs primarily highlight the benefits related to decision-making assistance and the learning process through advice (80%), critical feedback (63%), strategic information (51%), and moral support (47%). Networking is a key benefit enjoyed by a slim majority of entrepreneurs receiving support (51%). In contrast, only 29% of these entrepreneurs had access to financial support. Finally, providing office space is a relatively uncommon practice; only 18% have benefited from it.
There is also a very wide variety of entrepreneurial support organizations. The major players are trade associations, such as chambers of commerce and industry. 29% of emerging entrepreneurs relied primarily on this type of support. Organizations such as incubators, business nurseries, and co-working spaces attract 21% of entrepreneurs, compared to just 13% for large networks (Adie, BGE, CRESS, France Active, France Angels, Initiative France, Réseau entreprendre, Pépite, etc.). Finally, employment integration and re-entry organizations (Apec, Pôle Emploi) provided support to 18% of emerging entrepreneurs.
Should this support be redirected to those who need it?
When we look at the sociodemographic characteristics of emerging entrepreneurs, the proportion of women entrepreneurs is lower (40.7%). However, the rate of support is 25.3% for women entrepreneurs, compared with 22.3% for men entrepreneurs.
The age group that most frequently seeks support from business support organizations is 25- to 34-year-olds. The rate of support (31%) in this group is very high compared to the rest of the population. This finding should be viewed in the context of the trend toward younger entrepreneurs in France and this age group’s strong interest in business support. Older entrepreneurs tend to make less use of support services; only one in five does so. Their greater experience and better access to professional networks may explain this lower level of interest.
Finally, educational attainment appears to be a determining factor in the use of support services. Entrepreneurs with a high level of education tend to rely more heavily on support services. For those with a high school diploma or less, this rate is only 17.8%. This finding raises questions about the ability of support providers to better target this group, which, paradoxically, may be the one that needs it most.
With limited support—and perhaps sometimes poorly targeted—stakeholders such as the Public Investment Bank (BPI) have recognized these gaps and proposed coordinating the key players in entrepreneurial support. Cap Créa now brings together 27 stakeholders committed to promoting entrepreneurship. The challenge is to make the support ecosystem even more inclusive for those with fewer educational credentials and older individuals.
This research, funded by Labex Entreprendre, receives government support administered by the National Research Agency (ANR) under the Investments for the Future program. The ANR funds project-based research in France. Its mission is to support and promote the development of basic and applied research across all disciplines, and to strengthen the dialogue between science and society. For more information, visit theANR website.
Karim Messeghem, Associate Professor, University of Montpellier; Constance Banc, Lecturer and Researcher, University of Montpellier; Justine Valette, Associate Professor of Management Sciences, University of Montpellier and Sophie Casanova, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of Montpellier
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Readthe original article.