Inside France’s €54B Climate Investment Drive w/ Raphaele Leyendecker, Techstars Sustainability Paris

In this episode, we dive into France's bold €54 billion climate investment plan with Raphaele Leyendecker, Managing Director of Techstars Sustainability Paris. 

As France positions itself as a leader in sustainable innovation, this massive initiative spans sectors from green energy to clean transportation. Raphaele unpacks how Techstars Sustainability Paris fits into this movement, the evolving role of European startups in climate tech, and the tangible ways global founders can engage with France’s green transition. 

With practical insights on market access, regulatory alignment, and ecosystem support, this conversation is a must-listen for anyone building for the climate era!

Timestamps / Key Takeaways

0:00 - Intro

01:40 - Raphaele’s background & motivation to align career with meaningful sustainability work

04:24 - Techstars Sustainability Paris: The launch & vision

07:08 - European funding landscape: France’s €54B climate investment plan; BPI France

08:42 - Software VS Hardware Clean Tech companies in Europe; Deep Tech & Hardware in Climate Innovation

10:48 - European Climate Tech landscape & regulatory advantage; Techstars' role in facilitating soft landing and long-term expansion support

14:34 - Growing trends in Climate and Sustainability and the challenges in European market

19:00 - Profit & purpose alignment; 

21:41 - The thrive of female founders in Clean Tech; how Techstars Paris is designing program around founder needs in deep tech

24:51 - 3 Key takeaways from Raphaele & Billion Dollar Questions

About Raphaele

Raphaele Leyendecker is the Managing Director of Techstars Sustainability Paris. Raphaele is a sustainability and digital entrepreneur, startup board member and early stage investor in over 40 startups. She is also versed in strategic innovation and venture building, working with 55+ corporations such as Engie, Suez, Schneider Electric, L’Oreal or Nespresso over the years.

FOLLOW RAPHAELE:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaeleleyendecker/

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