Over the past ten years, France’s startup ecosystem has expanded dramatically with the help of both private investment and official backing. But capital isn’t dispersed equally. The founders of most venture-backed companies are based in Paris and come from the same few institutions and schools.
Venture capital firm Daphni aims to change this with Time4, a €100 million fund with a purpose to invest in French inventors from rural areas and a range of backgrounds. The fundraising process started in September.
Anita de Voisins, a venture partner at Daphni, told the sources that one of the reasons for the initiative is “the certainty that there is an economic potential that is under-exploited at this stage.”
The Daphni team believes that a different strategy is needed to reverse this tendency. (Ironically, a large number of startup entrepreneurs funded by venture capital graduated from HEC Paris.)
These collaborations are essential to Time4’s investment strategy because they will enable it to move beyond the typical inbound-first, Paris-focused venture investment approach while simultaneously giving startups without mentors more direct assistance. Given that the entrepreneurs they support have far less “love money” to rely on, it will also write cheques that are marginally larger than those of other funds at that point.
In addition to this, Time4 also wants a sizable portfolio to diversify its risk, which is another reason it is aiming for “a relatively large fund.
A portion of Time4’s work will be focused on encouraging more people, from all backgrounds, to launch businesses with big plans. The nonprofit Les Déterminés, whose name is a play on the phrase “being determined,” promotes business that challenges social determinism. This is also the goal of co-promoter Moussa Camara.
According to de Voisins, Live for Good is centered on impact entrepreneurship but has prior experience assisting creators that meet Time4’s requirements. This also applied to her previous position as head of innovation and entrepreneurship at CentraleSupélec, an esteemed engineering school that chooses its students through a very difficult exam. Because of this, not every student at CentraleSupélec comes from an affluent family.
