France launches €35m fund to attract private investment to overseas territories

Overseas Territories Minister Naïma Moutchou unveiled the “Outre-mer One” fund in Paris on Thursday during the first Choose Outre-mer economic summit at the Banque de France.

The fund has already exceeded its initial target of €30 million.

“This is a sign of confidence,” Moutchou told an audience of investors and entrepreneurs.

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From subsidies to investment

Managed by INCO Ventures, the fund brings together the French state, the French Development Agency, or AFD, and the Banque des Territoires, alongside private investors including BRED, EDF and the Bernard Hayot Group.

The government says it wants a major change in the way economic development is approached in France's overseas territories.

For years, policies have often focused on offsetting the costs of remoteness, insularity and small domestic markets. The government now wants to place greater emphasis on local advantages such as tropical biodiversity, marine resources and the blue economy.

“For a long time, we have approached their development primarily in terms of their constraints,” Moutchou said.

“Not a subsidy. An investment,” she added. Key investors, business leaders and officials pose for a group photo at the first Choose Outre-mer summit in Paris on 1 October, where a new €35 million fund was launched to support businesses in France's overseas territories.

Outre-mer One will finance projects considered commercially viable while also delivering benefits for local economies, with a focus on natural resources, decarbonisation and social inclusion.

Nine start-ups took part in timed presentations at the summit in the hope of securing funding to expand.

They included Tahiti Marine Biotech in French Polynesia and Biofuel in Réunion, with organisers saying the initiative was designed to help promising overseas companies scale up.

Access to finance is only one of the obstacles facing businesses in the territories, however.

Many operate in relatively small domestic markets, limiting their potential for growth. To address this, the government has signed a partnership with Business France to help overseas companies expand into neighbouring regional markets and develop internationally.

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Tackling skills shortages

The government is also trying to address labour shortages, particularly in sectors where overseas territories struggle to retain highly qualified workers.

Many young graduates leave for mainland France for education or employment, leaving some local companies short of specialised staff.

A recruitment drive was therefore held alongside the Paris summit, with events taking place simultaneously in five overseas territories, including Guadeloupe and Mayotte.

A three-year agreement has also been signed with France Travail, the national employment agency.

The initiative, led by France Travail chief executive Thibaut Guilluy and APEC head Annelore Coury, is offering nearly 1,000 vacancies in an effort to bring overseas employers and qualified candidates together.

The broader economic push builds on the France 2030 investment programme, which has already committed nearly €300 million to around 100 projects in France's overseas territories.

Authorities are also renewing efforts to tackle late payments, which can put severe pressure on the cash flow of smaller companies and, in the government's words, risk “strangling” otherwise viable businesses.

With Outre-mer One, the government hopes to convince investors that overseas economies can offer opportunities beyond their traditional dependence on public support – and that local businesses can become stronger players in their own regional markets.

(with newswires)