Orange to support Move Capital I fund in its goal of helping digital B2B startups emerge and ensure European technological sovereignty

Orange to support Move Capital I fund in its goal of helping digital B2B startups emerge and ensure European technological sovereignty

(PRESS RELEASE) PARIS, 4-Jan-2022 — /EuropaWire/ — Orange S.A. (EPA: ORA), a French multinational telecommunications group, has announced that its holding company Orange Digital Investment will invest in the Move Capital I fund. The fund, a Kepler Cheuvreux Invest “Tech Growth” fund, aims at supporting European B2B technology companies active in the fields of IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, Cloud and Industry 4.0. The deal is a boost for Orange Business Services, the global enterprise entity of the Orange Group.

Orange Business Services and Move Capital share a common vision: to assist, support and finance French and European tech companies in the digital B2B sector to facilitate their development and emergence and ensure European technological sovereignty.

The B2B technology ecosystem is in the midst of change with a series of happenings such as the deployment of 5G, the data boom, the rise in connected objects, the migration of services and solutions to the cloud and overall, the need to protect these ecosystems with cybersecurity solutions.

For Orange Business Services, these rapid changes emphasize the importance of being supported by trusted partners. The digital economy is restructuring around an ecosystem of partners whose aim is to combine the best technologies in the market to cover the needs of innovative companies across the entire value chain.

By partnering with the Move Capital I fund, Orange Business Services is confirming its desire to become a stakeholder with a recognized panel of promising European technology companies in order to enhance its innovation strategy.

“We’re convinced that this investment in the Move Capital I fund is key to anticipating our customers’ needs, strengthening our services innovation and expertise in a dynamic B2B market landscape. As a network-native digital services company, we take advantage of a rich and innovative ecosystem to support our clients in their digital transformation and create a positive impact on their activities. A digital European approach to B2B is much appreciated by our global clients given the increasing fragmentation of digital ecosystems.” said Laurent Godicheau, Chief Strategy Officer of Orange Business Services.

“This investment in the Move Capital I fund will enable us, beyond the expected financial return, to implement a strong partnership with the Move Capital and Kepler Cheuvreux Invest teams and their ecosystem. We’re delighted to support Orange Business Services in this block of their innovation strategy by actively developing this partnership and new synergies”, announced Maï de la Rochefordière, Deputy CEO of Orange Digital Investment.

“We are very happy with the trust that Orange, as an anchor investor, has shown in the Move Capital fund. With Orange Business Services, we have a common vision and a willingness to support the emergence of French and European tech companies to further strengthen that ecosystem.”  added Sophie Sursock and Hervé Malausséna, the co-founders of Move Capital.

Media contacts:

Richard Rousseau ; richard2.rousseau@orange.com ; +33 6 86 52 64 84

Ibtissame Nafii; ibtissame.nafii@orange.com; +33 6 37 38 60 50

Orange Business Services: Christelle Innavong-Hanot; christelle.innavong@orange.com; + 33 6 31 43 37 87

SOURCE: Orange