Anvar: The French agency for Innovation

Mission : Promoting and financing innovation in French industry particularly for SMEs. Facilitating the emergence of new products and processes in all fields of activity. Anvar depends on Ministries of Industry, SMEs and Research.

The role of the Agency is to meet with the needs and requirements of French SMEs, through its 24 regional offices , by offering a multi-faceted professional approach :
· Providing information, access to consultancy services and expertises ;
· Establishing contacts with technical partners (laboratories, technology transfer agencies) ;
· Assisting in partner search to set up industrial and commercial partnership, and in looking for capital funds for start-up or growing companies.

Anvar organises European technology exchanges and investment fora, and widespreads via its 24 regional offices information on European R&D and EU programs.

Anvar gives a financial support under the form of an interest-free loan, repayable if the project is successful, covering up to 50 % of the expenditure relating to the innovation program or technology transfer.

This support can also be a grant (up to 38 000 euros) to finance, in some cases, more selective programs with a view to :
· Preparing or completing innovation programs (market survey, design, patents) ;
· Facilitating the setting up of innovative companies ;
· Raising the technology level of SMEs (hiring researchers, scientific and technical information, etc..) ;
· Encouraging SMEs to become more involved in European technological cooperation projects within Eureka (seeking for partners and drawing up formal cooperation agreements), or within the 5th framework programme.

Decisions to finance are taken by the regional officers, and are based on both technical economic and financial experts' reports.

535 operational at headquarters and in regional offices.

Ministries of Research, and Industry

http://www.anvar.fr

Contacts :
Philippe Jurgensen (CEO), Michel Guilbaud (Assistant General Manager)
: Director of International Affairs
: Division of International Affairs

Head Office

75436 Paris Cedex 09
Phone : + - Fax. : +

Useful documents:

Evaluation of Anvar's "Procédure d'aide au projet d'innovation", 1993-1999, by Technopolis - 2001 - PDF format (75 Ko)