Startup Funding in France for an MVP: Bourse French Tech, Prêts d'Honneur and JEI

For an early-stage founder in France, the public money that can realistically go towards an MVP is the Bourse French Tech from Bpifrance, a grant of up to €30,000 for young innovative companies, and the interest-free prêts d'honneur from Initiative France and Réseau Entreprendre, which are personal loans you put into your company. The JEI status (jeune entreprise innovante) is not funding; it reduces social contributions on R&D staff. i-Lab and i-Nov exist, but they are competitive programmes for larger technology projects, and neither is taking applications today.

This page sets out each scheme from Bpifrance, the networks and the tax authorities, as published on 20 October 2026, then answers the question most guides skip: whether the money can pay an outside development team, or one outside France. It is orientation, not financial, tax or legal advice. For other countries, see the European MVP funding hub, and for programmes run from Brussels, EU funding for startups.

At a glance

Bourse French Tech

What it is. A "subvention ayant pour objet de soutenir des projets d'innovation en phase de maturation et de faisabilité" (a grant to support innovation projects in the maturation and feasibility phase), according to Bpifrance's offer page.

Amount and rate. "Aide sous forme de subvention d'un montant maximum de 30 000 € sous condition" (a grant of up to €30,000, under conditions). It "peut couvrir jusqu'à 50 % des dépenses éligibles et selon la catégorie de l'entreprise, jusqu'à 70 %" (can cover up to 50% of eligible expenses, and up to 70% depending on the company category).

Who is eligible. The offer page says "PME au sens de la Définition Européenne" (an SME under the EU definition). Bpifrance Création's summary of aid for innovative founders describes it as aimed at "petites entreprises de moins d'un an" (small companies less than a year old).

Eligible costs. It finances in part "les dépenses de R&D internes et externes liées à votre projet d'innovation" (the internal and external R&D costs of your innovation project). The official page does not give an itemised list.

Match funding. Bpifrance's pages do not state a separate own-funds rule. Because the grant covers at most 50% (or 70%) of costs, you fund the rest. Some accountants' sites say the grant cannot exceed the company's equity; that is a secondary source, so confirm it with Bpifrance.

Process and timing. No application or processing fees. The programme lasts up to 24 months. Bpifrance pays in two instalments: the first at contract signature, the balance at the end, on "un rapport de fin de programme et un état récapitulatif des dépenses acquittées" (an end-of-programme report and a statement of the expenses paid). You start through the contact form on the offer page, which puts you in touch with your regional office. The page shows no call window.

The timing rule that matters. "Aucune dépense engagée antérieurement à la date de dépôt de la demande d'aide ne peut être retenue" (no expense committed before the date the application is filed can be counted). Do not sign with, or pay, a development team before you apply.

Bourse French Tech Emergence. For deeptech only: up to €90,000 for "petites entreprises immatriculées en France depuis moins d'un an" (small companies registered in France for less than a year) whose project is qualified under Bpifrance's deeptech criteria, over 12 months, extendable to 18 (Bpifrance). An ordinary software MVP will not qualify.

Prêts d'honneur: Initiative France and Réseau Entreprendre

How they work. Bpifrance Création explains that a prêt d'honneur is a personal loan to the founder, not to the company, with no interest and no guarantee. You put it into your company as equity or a shareholder loan, which then helps you raise a bank loan. A committee decides after you present your project, and loans from different networks can be combined.

Initiative France. "Un montant moyen de 10 000 €", "à taux 0", "sans garantie demandée" (an average of €10,000, at zero interest, with no guarantee required), with free mentoring, according to Initiative France. Each local association sets its own amounts and eligibility.

Réseau Entreprendre. For projects "à potentiel de création d'emplois" (with job-creation potential), decided "à l'unanimité" (unanimously) by a committee, with support for two years from an experienced business owner (Réseau Entreprendre). Its 2025 panorama gives an average loan of €34,000. As an example of local rules, Réseau Entreprendre Paris lends €15,000 to €40,000 at zero interest, without guarantee or surety, repayable over three years, to companies registered for less than three years.

What it means for an MVP. These are the most flexible money in this guide, because the networks set no rules on what the company then spends it on. The trade-off is that you repay it personally, and the committees judge you and the business, not a development plan.

Bpifrance's former prêt d'amorçage now shows "Désolé, cette offre n'est plus disponible" (this offer is no longer available).

JEI status (jeune entreprise innovante)

Conditions, according to Service Public and the BOFiP:

• an SME with fewer than 250 people, and turnover under €50 million or a balance sheet under €43 million;
• for companies created from 1 January 2023, under eight years old (the status is lost in the year of the eighth anniversary);
• R&D spending of at least 20% of the company's costs;
• at least 50% of the capital held by individuals or certain other qualifying entities;
• a genuinely new activity, not a restructuring or extension of an existing one.

A growth category with an R&D share of 5% to 20%, the jeune entreprise de croissance (JEC), also requires headcount growth that a new startup cannot show.

Benefits. JEIs created from 1 January 2024 "ne peuvent plus bénéficier" (can no longer benefit) from the corporate tax exemption. The exemption from certain employer contributions on R&D staff remains for JEIs created before 31 December 2028, on salary up to €8,401.58 a month and capped at €240,300 a year per establishment. You apply it yourself, without a prior filing. Local councils may also grant property and business-premises tax exemptions.

What it means for an MVP. It lowers the cost of employing your own R&D staff. It does not pay a supplier.

i-Lab and i-Nov

• i-Lab. The 28th edition took applications from 25 November 2025 to 3 February 2026 and is closed. It offers grants up to €600,000 for companies under two years old, or a project to create one in France, with proof of concept established (Bpifrance). Dates for the 29th edition are not published. It is highly selective and suits a technology-led company, not a typical first MVP.
• i-Nov. The latest wave shown on Bpifrance's page ran from 10 July to 1 October 2024 and is closed, for projects of €1 million to €5 million. We found no newer wave, and it does not fit an MVP, so we leave it there.

Can this money pay an outside development team, or one in another country?

Scheme by scheme, from the official rules:

• Bourse French Tech. External R&D costs are eligible: Bpifrance says it finances "les dépenses de R&D internes et externes". Bpifrance's pages say nothing about where an external provider must be located, or whether it must be approved. The official guidance does not say; ask your regional Bpifrance chargé d'affaires before you commit, and before you sign anything, because costs committed before the application are excluded.
• Prêts d'honneur. The loan is personal and the networks set no rules on how the company spends it, so nothing in their rules stops you paying an outside or foreign team. Your committee will still want to see a credible plan.
• JEI status. For the 20% R&D ratio, subcontracted R&D counts only where it is "confiées à des organismes agréés par le ministre chargé de la recherche, ou à des experts scientifiques ou techniques agréés" (entrusted to bodies, or scientific or technical experts, approved by the research minister), according to the BOFiP. Under the CIR rules those categories follow, research must be located in the EU or EEA, and the BOFiP says providers "peuvent être implantés en France, dans un État membre de l'Union européenne ou de l'Espace économique européen" (may be based in France, the EU or the EEA) and must, for some, be approved. Fees paid to a developer that is not approved, or that is outside the EU and EEA, do not count towards the JEI ratio.
• CIR and CII. The same approval and EU/EEA location rules apply to subcontracted work, per the BOFiP and the research ministry's 2025 CIR guide. A non-EU contractor's fees do not qualify.
• i-Lab. Eligible costs include "prestations de conseil, de formation et d'accompagnement" (consulting, training and support services). The page sets no supplier-location rule; ask the organisers for the edition you apply to.

About us. Easify invoices in euros from its registered entity in India, so for a French company we are a supplier outside France and outside the EU, and the reverse charge normally applies for VAT. We are not an approved CIR or CII provider, and our fees would not count towards a JEI R&D ratio. Whether the Bourse French Tech accepts a non-EU provider for external costs is a question for Bpifrance; if they say no, you should know that before you sign with us.

How to plan your MVP budget around it

1. Apply before you commit. The Bourse French Tech excludes any cost committed before the application date. Talk to Bpifrance first, then sign.
2. Plan your share. The grant covers at most half, or 70% for some companies, and is paid partly at the end. An honour loan is often what fills the gap.
3. Write the scope down. Bpifrance asks for a programme and, at the end, a statement of expenses paid. A scope document with deliverables, a timeline and a fixed price makes both easier, and makes quotes comparable. Our €900 MVP Scoping Sprint produces that, and the €900 is credited against the build if you build with us. That is general advice: no French scheme requires or accepts our document specifically.
4. Separate what the JEI counts. If you want JEI status, your own salaried R&D staff and approved providers count; an ordinary outside team does not. Decide the split with your accountant before you choose a supplier.
5. Size the first version. Our MVPs typically cost €5,000 to €25,000 over four to twelve weeks; MVP costs in Europe explains what moves the price, and our 12 questions for choosing an MVP agency help you compare quotes.

Products we build are deployed to EU data-centre regions. Our engineering team is in India, so describe that accurately in your privacy notice. We work in English, so French interface copy and legal texts come from you or a translator.

Building elsewhere in Europe? See startup grants in Germany or startup grants in Spain.

Scheme details checked against official sources on 20 October 2026. Schemes change; confirm with the programme before applying.