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High-growth SMEs in France - Banque de France's article

High-growth SMEs in France - Banque de France's article

Estimates derived from the Banque de France’s FIBEN database show that independent, high-growth SMEs (HGSMEs, also known as gazelles) are a significant driver of France’s economic growth: while they made up only 7% of independent SMEs, they accounted for over half of the net employment generated by these companies over the 2002-2005 period.

HGSMEs are based, for the most part, on the start-up model and have a very specific profile: they are young, highly internationalised, and invest even under adverse economic conditions. Their investments grew by 6% over the 2002-2005 period and by an additional 1% from 2006 to 2010. This compared to a 1% drop in investment from 2002 to 2005 and a 2% decline from 2006 to 2010 for the other independent
SMEs. HGSMEs were highly profi table, with profi t margins up to 50% above those of other independent SMEs.

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