Meeting with Francesco Plazzotta, expert in cultural and creative industries at Business France which intervened at the Plaine Images as part of the 2019 bootcamp GDC for our participating companies.
Where does this interest in the French market come from and what is your role within Business France?
During my studies in international relations in Italy, French was part of one of my compulsory languages, it was therefore thanks to this that I started to be interested in your country.
After a university exchange in France where I was able to discover French culture, I joined Milan for an internship at Business France. My mission was to support French companies in their development on the Italian market. Then four years later, I told myself that it would be interesting to go from "the other side" and not to work for a single market only; This is to have a broader vision of the different actions carried out around the world. For two years, I have been based at the headquarters of Business France, in Paris, where I coordinate the missions organized by my colleagues in the various offices around the world. I develop opportunities for French companies by organizing collective immersion programs or French pavilions on major fairs linked to international sectors (such as the Game Developpers Conference in San Francisco, Gamescom in Cologne etc.) .
How can Business France help companies in the Plaine Images?
Business France has two main branches, that of export and that of "invest".
We first help companies to export on the international market. We exchange on their needs, the progress stage of their internationalization project, customers to prospect etc. Once this step has been carried out, we support them to implement strategies on a specific market, to meet local partners and investors, while identifying the cultural codes that come into play.
We also attract foreign investors in France, in Hauts-de-France and more particularly to the Plaine Images, such as American or Asian businesses who want to invest in Europe for example.
The companies of the Plaine Images can thus exchange with our experts, join our immersion missions such as the creative LAB (acceleration program for the starts-ups of creative, cultural and tourist industries, which extends from NY to Montreal). Business France can therefore strongly support companies in the Plaine Images in their international development process.
Can you tell us about the Game Developers Conference which will take place from March 18 to 22, 2021 in San Francisco?
GDC is one of the biggest events in the video game industry. There will be more than 28,000 professionals who will be present to exchange and build the future of industry together.
Within a French pavilion, Business France organized all kinds of activities to allow French companies to take full advantage of it. Communication, evening at the Consulate, BtoB meeting, Networking sessions and pitches in front of foreign investors have been scheduled to increase the visibility of French companies on the global video game market.
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