Kovalee, a Paris-based startup that helps consumer apps climb the download charts, tops the inaugural Sifted 50: France — a ranking of the fastest-growing companies in the country.
The leaderboard ranks 50 companies with the strongest revenue growth over the past three financial years.
Kovalee was founded in 2020 — following a meeting of minds between the two founders in a Paris steakhouse — and today boasts 626% two-year revenue growth.
The second fastest-growing startup on the Sifted list is Swan, a Paris fintech that helps companies set up banking features like accounts, cards and payments (558.17% CAGR).
Getting its paws on third spot is digital-first pet insurer Dalma (+549.08%). Other names on the list include Descartes Underwriting, which covers businesses against climate change-related damages, “buy now, pay later” fintech Alma and carbon accounting firm Greenly.
Paris on the march
Paris is the overwhelming location of choice for companies, with the capital notching 34 of the 50 spots; Marseilles, home to just three startups on the ranking, is a distant second.
There are 21 business-to-business software companies on the list, making it the main startup category. Climate tech startups had the next best performance (nine feature) followed by fintechs (eight).
The 50 companies on the leaderboard have raised €39m on average and grown 132.72% over two years (again on average).
The company that’s raised the most money is Alma (€145m). Arguably the most efficient company on the leaderboard is insurtech Seyna, as it boasts the highest revenue growth:employee ratio in the top 50 (€1.4m per employee).
France’s public funder Bpifrance has backed the most companies on this list (16). The next most prominent investor is VC firm Kima Ventures, backer of nine, followed by Eurazeo and Founders Future (six companies each).
France’s 10 fastest-growing startups
- Kovalee — Mobile app publisher
- Swan — Embedded banking services
- Dalma — Insurance for pets
- Clone — Helps restauranteurs create online brands
- Aria — B2B payments infrastructure
- Kinetix — 3D animation services for gaming companies
- Qovoltis — Chargers for electric vehicles
- BioEsol — Energy storage systems
- Greenly — Carbon accounting platform
- Beev — Chargers for electric vehicles
Sifted’s research team used their proprietary data to identify and contact relevant high-growth startups. Applications were accepted from October 1 to November 8.
To be eligible, companies had to meet the following criteria: headquartered in France; founded in or after 2014; maximum headcount of 999; private and independent; majority of revenue must be generated by proprietary technology; at least three years of revenue data; and revenue (annualised if necessary) of at least €50k in the base year (2020 or 2021) and at least €250k in the latest financial year (2022 or 2023).
Companies were required to submit signed documentation to support disclosed financial information not publicly available.
And for the full French top 50, click here.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/paris-mobile-app-publisher-kovalee-tops-sifteds-france-leaderboard/
