Members of Scale-Up Europe present their recommendations to the French President, Emmanuel Macron

Announced in December 2020 by Emmanuel Macron and launched last March by the French Secretary of State for Digital Transition and Electronic Communications, Cédric O, the Scale-Up Europe initiative brings together more than 200 members of the European tech ecosystem (entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, corporates and public decision makers). This unique initiative develops actionable proposals to support the emergence in Europe of 10 technology leaders valued at more than 100 billion dollars by 2030, while also strengthening the continent's digital sovereignty.

After several months of consultation, the recommendations drawn up by Scale-Up Europe were presented to the French President, Emmanuel Macron, at the Elysée Palace in the presence of members of the initiative. Before this gathering, the Scale-Up Europe members met at STATION F to discuss their recommendations and attended an insightful discussion about taking innovation in Europe to the next level between Cédric O, André Aragão de Azevedo, Portuguese Secretary of State for the Digital Transition, Simon Zajc, Slovenian State Secretary at the Ministry for Economic Development and Technology, and Kat Borlongan, Director of La French Tech.

The 21 recommendations will be unveiled to the public at the opening of Viva Technology on Wednesday June 16 at 10am. They target both the tech ecosystem and European governments, with the aim of stimulating debate ahead of the French Presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2022.

The proposals were formulated by members of Scale-Up Europe, including Niklas Zennström, founder and CEO of Atomico; Taavet Hinrikus, founder and CEO of Wise; Ersilia Vaudo Scarpetta, Chief Diversity Officer at the European Space Agency; and John Collison, co- founder and chairman of Stripe. They have now been signed by more than a hundred members of the ecosystem (see complete list in the annex), and address four key issues for the development of digital champions: investment, access to talent, collaboration between startups and corporates, and the emergence of deep techs. The recommendations are presented in a report entitled How to Build Global Tech Leaders in Europe, produced by Sifted.

The 21 key recommendations of Scale-Up Europe include the following:

• Deploy the multiplier effect of public investment at the level of the European Union

• Promote visibility and transparency on the performance of private investments in Europe

• Create a fast-track visa for recruiting foreign tech talent

• Encourage startups to work toward greater diversity

• Develop the activity and profile of the European Innovation Council (EIC) by promoting a long-term deep tech roadmap (disruptive technologies), complemented by adapted funding and administrative support for startups

• Develop entrepreneurship within European universities by adapting curricula, promoting cross-discipline links, and positioning entrepreneurs and investors within university authorities

• Launch an "Erasmus tech" program to promote employee exchanges between startups and large companies

• Launch a Europe-wide support structure for startups.

Public presentation of the report on June 16 at 10am at Viva Technology

On June 16 at 10am, all the recommendations will be unveiled to the public by members of the initiative, including Daniel Dines, CEO of UiPath; Rania Belkahia, Deal Partner at EQT; Jean-Michel Dalle, Director of Agoranov; Daniel Metzler, CEO of Isar Aerospace; Christian Miele, President of the German Startup Association; Adrien Nussenbaum, CEO of Mirakl; and Jean-Charles Samuelian, CEO of Alan.

To ensure these recommendations become part of the European agenda, the Secretary of State Cédric O will then lead a discussion from VivaTech with his European counterparts, present in Paris or remotely.

Discover more about the Scale-Up Europe initiative: https://scaleupeurope.tech

Download the Scale-Up Europe report, How to Build Global Tech Leaders in Europe: https://sifted.eu/intelligence/reports/scale-up-europe-report