Alain Godard has been nominated as chairman and managing director of a new high-level initiative, effective Jan. 1, 2023.
Following the joint declaration Feb. 8, 2022 on European Scale-Up under the French Presidency of the European Union, Godard was nominated to set up and lead the European fund for digital sovereignty. As CEO of the European Investment Fund (EIF), Godard has played a key role in designing and promoting this strategic initiative supported by several member states, notably France and Germany, as well as the EIB Group.
The scale-up initiative aims to support innovative companies and startups in the digital economy, sustaining their development within Europe. The fund will address a market gap that has led to the refinancing of three quarters of successful start-ups outside the European Union. The European Scale-up Initiative aims to provide crucial financing for Europe’s high-tech companies in their late-stage development, when they want to scale up th