BNP Paribas, the global Top-10 bank headquartered in France, announced this week it is launching its very own investment fund that dedicated to financial services and insurance. The company reported that the new fund will be managed by BNP Paribas Capital Partners, an arm of BNP Paribas Asset Management that specializes in selection and multi-management in the alternative investments field.
“The fund will take direct minority stakes, on behalf of the various BNP Paribas’ businesses, in innovative startups that are reinventing financial services and insurance. Its objective is to support startups by operating in total alignment with entrepreneurs and investors toward success. It will also make indirect investments through Venture Capital funds whose priorities in technologies (such as AI, data, blockchain, cyber-security…), geographies and topics match those of the BNP Paribas’ businesses.”
BNP Paribas also noted that with the establishment of this new investment fund,it is stepping up its Open Innovation strategy. The fund complements a range of initiatives already launched with the intention of driving forward the Group’s policy of working closely with promising startups. Jacques d’Estais, BNP Paribas Group Deputy COO and Head of International Financial Services, added:
“At BNP Paribas, we’re firmly convinced that Open Innovation is a powerful driver for the transformation that will help to build the bank of tomorrow and enable us to continue to provide our clients with high value-added products and services. This will require us to put in place innovative, complementary mechanisms. The new fund, which will give added fire-power to our investment strategy, complements the other initiatives we’ve already set in motion, including our partnership with Plug and Play, our Station F space and our Startup Engagement Kit, which was recently highlighted on the FrenchTech label.”