French (& German) Government Support for Big Data

On July 4, 2013, Ms. Fleur Pellerin, Minister Delegate for SMEs, Innovation and the Digital Economy, unveiled the French government’s five-part support plan for Big Data.

A five-part support plan
The five parts of the plan involve: introducing data-scientist educational programs; setting up a technology center to give startups access to databases and web archives; boosting finance for innovation through a new seed capital fund for Big Data; creating flagship projects in the field; and utilizing social networks both at local level and at European level, especially through Franco-German relations.

Ms. Susanne Wasum-Rainer, the German ambassador to France, Ms. Fleur Pellerin, Minister Delegate for the Digital Economy, and Mr. Jamel Labed, Chairman of Afdel. © CCM Benchmark

Big Data: Imminent launch
The Big Data support plan is currently being finalized and will be submitted to the Prime Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, by the end of July.

“We’ve got the Big Data movement is up and running now, not in five years’ time. If we didn’t act promptly, we would risk losing part of our economic sovereignty, so we have to seize this opportunity as we’re able to act and have the talent to do it”,  commented Ms. Pellerin.