January 28th, 2025
The historic partnership between Les Arts et Métiers Business Angels (AMBA) and the Novares Group was once again highlighted during the 5th “AMBA Interviews” event, organized on January 27th in Paris, on the theme of “International Challenges for startups and Open Innovation”.
Photo credit AMBA©
A hundred Business Angels, startup managers and representatives of institutions met to share advice and feedback on the challenges of the international development.
The event began at 5pm with the presentation of Novares ’open innovation on 3 continents, by Hugo Mestre, Innovation Director of the Group, highlighting the testimony of partners Orsay Consulting in the US and XNode in China. During the round table, co-hosted by Philippe Laroche (AMBA) and Thibaud le Seguillon, Industrya Director, several companies discussed the challenges encountered at the internationally.
JUS Parfums shared its experience with geopolitical risks and the establishment of a distribution network in Asia; ZOZIO presented its feedback on Germany and its strategy in the USA. The co-founder of NETA, a startup sold to an American industrial group, highlighted the challenges of being acquired by a foreign group. Business France provided its insight as a public agency serving French startups.
Before closing the event, AMBA presented the 2024 prize for the most deserving funded startup, to WaryMe whose Business Angels investment dates back to 2021. This year again, the AMBA Jury particularly emphasized 3 fundamental criteria:
– The real capacity of the leaders to deliver the promises of an ambitious Business Plan
– The quality of the governance put in place by the startup and of the relationship with the AMBA referent
– The profitability and the commercial performance including the international dimension
Awarding of the AMBA 2024 prize to Philippe LIMA, General Manager and co-founder of WaryMe by Marc DOUCET,
AMBA representative on WaryMe’s Board (on the left) and Gérard LEVEQUE, AMBA President (on the right).
Photo credit AMBA©
The ceremony ended with a friendly cocktail during which all participants were able to continue to exchange and consider developing new collaborations.
The President of Novares, Pierre BOULET, recalled the interest of the partnership with AMBA:
« Innovation is an integral part of our strategy and this partnership with AMBA underlines our commitment to the subject, in France but also abroad. In return for the contribution of funds and expertise from Novares, AMBA brings us into its vast network of promising innovations. AMBA’s network allows our Group to considerably expand its ecosystem with new partners whose common goal is to transform the vehicle of tomorrow with new technologies while ensuring the decarbonization of our products and activities. »
In conclusion of these discussions, Gérard LEVEQUE, President of AMBA, summarized:
« The growth of our startups and access to Series A financing, most often involves an international strategy. Mid-Cap companies, such as our partner NOVARES, can provide invaluable support to our startups. The situations they will encounter are extremely varied: setting up a distribution network, adapting the commercial offer, finding a partner, external growth, backing an international group, etc… We wanted to address this complex subject and share, with our ecosystem, the feedback and advice of managers who have faced these challenges. This helps to attract new Business Angels to our association and strengthens our attractiveness to startups. »
ABOUT NOVARES:
Based in France, Novares is a global supplier of plastic solutions that designs and manufactures complex components and systems that serve the future of the automotive industry. The company creates and produces advanced automotive solutions with technical plastic injection for greener, lighter and connected cars with intelligent and intuitive interfaces for all passengers.
Novares co-develops and provides engineering and manufacturing expertise to virtually every OEM in the world and many Tier 1 companies in the automotive market. Novares, which is behind the construction of one in three vehicles in the world, achieved a turnover of 1.1 billion euros in 2024, thanks to its presence in 22 countries, its 37 manufacturing plants, its 6 centers of expertise, its 7 technical centers and 17 customer service centers around the world to partner with customers.
www.novaresteam.com
ABOUT AMBA:
Arts et Métiers Business Angels is a non-profit association under the French law of 1901, originally founded by engineering alumni of Arts et Métiers ParisTech. It is open to all, in particular to entrepreneurs who want to invest in innovative companies and support project initiators in their start-up phase, by contributing their experience as engineers, managers, generalist executives and their network of expertise.
Since its creation, Arts et Métiers Business Angels, which has over 130 active members, has helped to finance more than 150 young companies, in 240 fund-raising operations, for a cumulative amount of over €16 million (data as at 31/12/2024).
www.am-businessangels.org
ABOUT INDUSTRYA :
Industrya invests in bold, innovative start-ups that are shaping tomorrow’s industry and world. A “hands-on” investment fund operating exclusively in the Industry 4.0, energy and new materials sectors, Industrya is an ecosystem of start-ups, from incubation to investment, supporting passionate and daring entrepreneurs proposing sustainable and innovative industrial solutions to meet the societal challenges of the 21st century. Industrya is an initiative of the John Cockerill industrial group, which brings together the investment funds of SFPIM, WE, NOSHAQ and LRM.
www.industrya.com
ABOUT WARYME:
WaryMe, founded in 2017 in Brittany, is headed by Boris BERGER (Chairman) and Philippe LIMA (Managing Director). Leading the way in the development of critical solutions, (real-time, geolocation, ambient listening), WaryMe digitalizes safety plans, the mobilization chain and the implementation of full-scale exercises. The solutions deployed have proved their worth in real-life emergency situations: raising doubts, qualification, intervention protocol, evidence. WaryMe was founded in 2021 by AMBA members.
www.waryme.com
