According to the France Digital and EY survey, start-ups expect to encounter a number of difficulties in the years ahead. These include problems with recruitment and contracting.
According to the France Digital and EY survey, the most important challenge facing their businesses in the coming years will be to secure contracts with private and public sector customers. Of the 500 entrepreneurs surveyed, more than half (58%) said that their priority was to sign contracts with major groups. In 2022, however, this was the priority for less than a third of start-ups (30%).
The second biggest challenge (47%) cited by start-ups is raising funds. In this situation, CSR appears to be an asset in attracting investors. In fact, two-thirds of start-ups that had measured their environmental or social impact felt that this was an advantage when it came to closing a round of financing. At the same time, 20% of the entrepreneurs surveyed mentioned the difficulty of obtaining a bank loan. The study shows that bank debt appears to be an alternative to fund-raising.
Difficulty to recruit
In addition, a third of the start-ups surveyed expect recruitment difficulties in the next few years. However, 92% of them plan to recruit in the next 12 months, most of them (70%) with fewer than 10 employees. However, given the uncertain economic climate, only 18% of the companies surveyed plan to recruit between 11 and 50 employees, compared with 23% in 2022. As for staff cuts, only less than 8% of the companies questioned are concerned.
Methodology:
This survey was carried out on the basis of responses collected by France Digitale and EY & Associés ("EY") between 1 June and 15 August 2023 from 500 start-ups meeting the following criteria: Head office in France; Unlisted or listed for less than 5 years; Activity related to the technology sector. The financial data presented in this survey relates to the 2022 and 2021 financial years. Data relating to employment in start-ups is based on the study on Employment in start-ups, published by France Digitale and Actual Group in June 2023. Data relating to the amounts raised by start-ups in the first half of 2023 are taken from EY's H1 2023 Venture Capital Barometer.
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