(FRANCE)
After much anticipation the Station F startup campus officially launched in Paris this week.
French President Emmanuel Macron joined 1500 entrepreneurs for the opening of the eagerly anticipated new facility, labelled the ‘world’s largest startup campus’. And from Monday – 3 July – the former train station will welcome 3000 innovators who will take part in 26 startup platforms, led by industry giants including Facebook, Microsoft and Plug and Play.
This Paris campus is more than a building though – it is home to a movement. It is inclusive, not exclusive, because talent and invention don’t come from any one place or from any one background – privileged or underprivileged.
Station F’s newly announced Fighters Program makes it clear the founders ‘get’ it when it comes to understanding the importance of championing diversity.
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Roxanne Varza – director at Station F – said: “Diversity is insanely important to us — we believe it’s what drives innovation. Today we launched our 26th program designed to support entrepreneurs from underprivileged backgrounds: The Fighters Program. With this program, we are not looking for fancy diplomas but rather the opposite. We want to work with entrepreneurs who come from underprivileged and rural areas, who may have been refugees or have had difficult personal stories. You are the ones who are underrepresented in today’s ecosystem and we believe you’ll make fantastic entrepreneurs. If you’re interested in the program, you can apply until October 2nd. Selected entrepreneurs will join the campus in January 2018 and have access to all the resources of the Founders Program — but for free for 1 year.”
And it is fitting that this platform is located where it is, as it has a President who recently told the world he wants France “to become a nation of unicorns”. He also said on a short twitter video, recorded during his visit to Station F: “If you want to invent – you have to come here.”
Apply now to join this exciting new French revolution.
