In 2025, the EU–LAC Digital Accelerator, through Expertise France, partnered with France Digitale (FD) and La Boussole to deepen engagement within the French and European startup ecosystem and to offer expanded support for international startup communities, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In fact, France Digitale is the largest startup association in Europe, bringing together thousands of startups and investors to shape the future of tech, influence public policy, and strengthen the European innovation ecosystem. La Boussole is France Digitale’s exclusive program for accelerators, incubators and support organisations, offering a peer community, dedicated workshops, and tools to professionalise and strengthen startup support structures. Together, they form a central pillar of the French innovation landscape, connecting startups, investors, and support hubs across regions.
Through this collaboration, the EU–LAC team participated in four thematic workshops between February and June 2025, focused on strengthening incubation practices and fostering inclusive, resilient entrepreneurial environments:
- “Perform Better: Structuring and Equipping Your Teams for Effective Support”
A La Boussole x France Digitale “circle” dedicated to sharing concrete methods and tools between peers to better structure support teams and make startup accompaniment more efficient.
- “Calls for Projects: How to Attract Mature and Committed Startups?”
A monthly La Boussole x FD small-group session focused on how support structures can design and promote calls for projects that attract committed, mature startups.
- “Making ESG a Pillar of Incubation: Challenges and Practices for Sustainable Support” (Schoolab)
A workshop co-hosted with Schoolab, an impact-oriented innovation studio, to explore how ESG criteria can be embedded in incubation practices and support programmes. - “Mental Health and Team Organisation: How to Find the Right Balance?” (Willa)
A La Boussole x FD circle held at Willa, focusing on mental health, team organisation, and how incubators can better support founders’ well-being.
- “Building More Inclusive Teams: Towards Recruitment That Values All Forms of Diversity”
A thematic circle on building more inclusive startup teams, centred on recruitment practices that recognise and value all forms of diversity.
In addition to the workshops, the EU–LAC engaged in major ecosystem events, including:
- Business Day of the AI Action Summit
A Business Day at Station F in Paris, co-organised by France Digitale and partners as part of the AI Action Summit, bringing together AI startups, corporates and international economic players. - Booster Day, Marseille – 2nd edition
France Digitale’s Booster Day at CIC Place de l’Innovation in Marseille is a full day dedicated to people and organisations that support and grow startups and entrepreneurs. - Incubator Summit
The Incubator Summit, created by La Boussole with VivaTech and Euratechnologies, is the flagship meetup for French, European, and international incubation and acceleration structures on the sidelines of VivaTech (the world’s rendezvous for startups and innovation leaders). - FDDay 2025, Paris
FDDay is France Digitale’s flagship annual event in Paris, gathering startups, scale-ups, investors and ecosystem builders from across Europe.
As part of the collaboration, EU–LAC nominated 5 startups to receive exclusive access to France Digitale’s offerings, including:
- Participation in key events across Paris and regional hubs
- Policy advocacy on their behalf at national and EU levels
- Access to monthly investor roundtables
- Use of France Digitale’s curated tools, resources, and peer support networks
- Invitations to matchmaking sessions during the FDTour, connecting them to investors and corporates
This engagement strengthens the integration of EU–LAC startups into the European innovation ecosystem and lays the groundwork for deeper cross-continental collaboration. It opens concrete pathways for partnerships with actors such as Ila (French Tech Bogotá), which plays a key role in creating synergies between the Colombian and French tech ecosystems, and more broadly supports the development of a connected, international community of entrepreneurs across Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
