Mid-cap companies: small but global

Mid-cap companies are implicated to a very large degree in the process of globalisation, and regard it as a major factor in their strategic development. However, when they choose a niche market which allows them to be among the leaders in that market‚ their nationwide activity quickly becomes limited. Therefore, they must set up their businesses outside France and Europe in order to take on the world market. This is especially necessary because their global clients need their suppliers to be close to their production sites. Globalisation, however, is expensive and may be dangerous. One needs to know what sort of internal and external resources and skills are necessary when setting up a business far from company headquarters‚ how to establish business relationships which conform with local traditions, and how to finance development. Bruno Bouygues and Joseph Puzo discuss how they set out to conquer the world by using their resources sparingly, and Anne Guérin explains how Bpifrance provides financial support to companies which wish to export.