The numbers are clear: with revenues of 77 billion euros and annual growth of 3%, the sports sector is throwing its weight on the French economy. A sector that Bpifrance follows closely, by providing financial support, but also by leading its community of leaders. Launched in 2020 to inject innovation into the French sports ecosystem, it features 55 professional sports clubs, both men and women, including the Public Investment Bank. They represent seven sports disciplines: football, rugby, basketball, handball, volleyball, ice hockey and water polo. else ” Recruitment “So far, the football club Sisyvot, from Bondi, has joined the ranks of this team on the eve.” Create your club », an event organized at Bpifrance Le Hub on 2 June in Paris. “You are the main economic and social players in each of your provinces.”Patrice Begay, CEO and Communications at Bpifrance reminds them.
Through this network, Bpifrance has multiple goals. “Promoting the business and commercial development of the clubs and expanding your national and international network”Patrice Begay continues. Then reinforce the bad reputation of sports clubs, as well as develop the skills of their leaders through advice and coaching. above all, “It is essential to communicate with all players in the sport. Thus, creating bridges, facilitating encounters and synergies is a permanent duty”, urges. To develop innovation within the ecosystem of leaders, the public bank in particular relies on a network of 16,000 partner companies of all sizes, including a number of start-ups that are developing disruptive solutions.
E-Sports, NFT, Applications: Phosphorous Sportek
In fact, the sports tricolor technique is in the beginning. It is phosphorous in very diverse fields. Thus, SportEasy has developed a digital application that aims to simplify the daily life and administrative management of amateur teams and clubs: for example, by collecting payments for subscriptions online or by allowing the sharing of comments, photos or videos. “It’s an organizational app and a social network”In the words of Nizar Melki, co-founder of Young Shot which claims nearly 2 million users and aims to spread its wings internationally. For its part, Metafight offers the purchase of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter cards in non-fungible tokens (NFT), these digital certificates that confer ownership and are exchanged on the blockchain. revolution in some way. This affects the grabbing of image rights for professional athletes who earn little. How to sell their photos and help them get better salaries is the important topic that the NFT team can answer »says Thomas Shufu, co-founder of Metafight.
Another area of exploration is e-sports, that is, playing a network video game on the Internet. For example, the MCES Sports Club has professional teams that play games like Fortnite, while investing in training. “We have developed eSports training academies, clubs and diplomas to support the development of players at all stages of their development”says Sandra Nellini, co-founder of this structure in Marseille. An esports club can also be attached to a traditional club. “ Today we’re talking with the sports federations to develop e-sports sections in the clubs to be used as a motivational tool that allows the youth in the clubs to stay there.confirms to the commander.
Incubators, key links
Within this bubble ecosystem, incubators and accelerators play a key role in creating and scaling innovative sports companies. Le Tremplin supports start-ups as well as key accounts, private or institutional, to transform their business or help them meet their innovation challenges. “We have an incubator side as well as an accelerator side, depending on the maturity level of the startups”Jean-Baptiste Elliott, CEO of the Vitality Hub, notes one of the poles of this structure that supports both projects on societal topics such as better aging or the fight against a sedentary lifestyle, as well as on athletic performance, by accompanying nuggets like MyCoach, a designer of educational tools in the form of Web applications for learning sports.
Structuring, communicating and helping raise funds are an integral part of Le Tremplin’s support for startups, even those in early stageJean-Bates Elliot explains. The next call for applications will also take place in September to launch a new promotion from January. For its part, Bpifrance Le Hub supports technology companies in which the public bank invests that have already reached an advanced level of maturity. “Our role is to be a lever of operational expectations such as hiring, links with companies or even networking”, says Jonathan Laskar, director of Bpifrance Le Hub. selection criteria ? “We first look at the value proposition, how innovative and disruptive it is, what is the market depth, as well as the differentiation of the offer in the market. Above all, we pay attention to the team, how complementary and agile it is. Flexibility and adaptability are, in fact, essential qualities”He says.
Hybrid ecosystem
Without forgetting the role that local authorities can play. The Grand Paris Sud, in particular, nurtures an ambition “Turning the area into a sports area”, says Anne-Sophie Haviso, Grand Paris Sport project manager for the conglomerate. The strategy for the development of esports, as well as the creation of a sports entertainment center and a park for economic activities, should contribute to the emergence of a sports sector.
The participation of schools in building the sport of tomorrow is no less. For example, the EPF School of Engineering, which supports companies in developing their products, worked on the scientific evaluation of sensor-enhanced hybrid promoters, designed by Grass Natural. finally, “Clubs and federations need students to work with them: as volunteers of course, but also to help them develop their strategy or communication plans, find partners or do marketing”David Minot, president of the School of Sports Business Administration concludes. The future of innovative sports in the heart of regions depends more than ever on talent training.