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| Numa (incubator) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Numa |
| Type | Incubator |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder | Karim Bouras; Brice Le Blévennec |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Region served | Europe; Africa; North America; Asia |
Numa (incubator) Numa is an international startup incubator and innovation hub founded in Paris in 2011 that operates coworking spaces, acceleration programs, and corporate innovation services. It runs programs linking entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, and institutions across cities including Paris, Bangalore, Madrid, Mexico City, and Casablanca. The organization is known for combining mentorship, prototyping resources, and corporate open innovation with a focus on digital transformation, civic technology, and sustainable business models.
Numa functions as a hybrid incubator and accelerator offering workspace, mentorship, and networking to early-stage ventures, partnering with stakeholders such as Station F, Techstars, 500 Startups, Wayra, Plug and Play Tech Center, MassChallenge, Seedcamp, Entrepreneur First, Y Combinator, and Startupbootcamp. It maintains collaborations with public institutions including La French Tech, Île-de-France Region, French Ministry of Economy and Finance, European Commission, Agence Française de Développement, and municipal governments in Paris, Bangalore, Mexico City, and Casablanca. Numa’s model intersects with private partners like Orange S.A., BNP Paribas, AXA, Airbus, Renault-Nissan, Thales, Engie, and AccorHotels to deliver corporate innovation challenges and pilot projects.
Numa was founded in 2011 by entrepreneurs including Karim Bouras and Brice Le Blévennec during a period shaped by initiatives such as France Digitale, Silicon Sentier, LaFrenchTech, Google Campus Paris, and the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Early growth benefited from connections to accelerators like Le Camping, investor networks including Kima Ventures and Partech Ventures, and civic innovation movements exemplified by Code for America and Nesta. Expansion beyond Paris followed models used by Impact Hub, Maker Faire, and coworking chains such as WeWork and Spaces, leading to regional programs in Bangalore aligned with Indian incubators like T-Hub and corporate innovation units pioneered by Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services.
Numa runs acceleration cohorts, corporate innovation labs, and open innovation challenges akin to programs by Microsoft for Startups, Amazon Web Services Activate, IBM Global Entrepreneur Program, Cisco Innovation Centers, and Google for Startups. Offerings include mentorship from entrepreneurs linked to BlaBlaCar, Deezer, Criteo, Dailymotion, and Vente-privee founders, technical workshops influenced by curricula from 42 (school), prototyping facilities like those at Fab Lab, legal clinics comparable to LegalZoom partnerships, and investor demo days attracting firms such as Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, Index Ventures, Balderton Capital, and Khosla Ventures. Numa’s civic and social tracks draw inspiration from Ashoka, Skoll Foundation, Ash Center, and philanthropic programs by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Applications to Numa combine written proposals, pitch decks, and interviews evaluated by panels including representatives from BPI France, Business France, venture firms like Elaia Partners and Isai, and corporate innovation leads from Orange S.A. and AXA Strategic Ventures. Selection criteria mirror those used by Y Combinator, Techstars, and 500 Startups with emphasis on team composition, market fit relative to players such as Spotify, Uber, Airbnb, and Deliveroo, technical feasibility tied to stacks popularized by Facebook, Twitter, Stripe, and Github, and potential for pilots with partners like AccorHotels and Renault-Nissan. Successful cohorts receive tailored mentorship, workspace, cloud credits from partners like Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform, and introductions to investor networks including European Investment Fund and angel syndicates linked to Seedrs and AngelList.
Alumni companies and projects supported by Numa have included startups that scaled or partnered with corporations such as Deezer, BlaBlaCar, Evaneos, Algolia, Qonto, Doctolib, BlaBlaCar, and Back Market. Other success stories include ventures that raised rounds from investors like Index Ventures, Partech Ventures, and Alven Capital, and that participated in later-stage programs at Station F or joined corporate innovation programs at Airbus and Orange. Social innovation alumni have worked with organizations including Médecins Sans Frontières, UNICEF, UNDP, and World Bank on pilots addressing urban mobility, health tech, and civic engagement.
Numa’s funding model mixes revenue from coworking memberships and corporate innovation contracts with sponsorships from companies such as Orange S.A., BNP Paribas, AccorHotels, AXA, and grants from European Commission programs like Horizon 2020. It has pursued partnerships with venture funds including Partech Ventures, Alven Capital, Isai, and corporate venture arms such as Airbus Ventures and Orange Digital Ventures. The business model resembles that of hybrid incubators like Impact Hub and accelerator-as-a-service firms such as Plug and Play, relying on paid corporate programs, equity stakes in select startups, and event revenues from conferences similar to VivaTech and LeWeb.
Numa has been credited with contributing to Paris’s startup ecosystem alongside Station F, Plaine Commune, and initiatives by La French Tech, helping connect entrepreneurs to investors, corporates, and international markets like India and Mexico. Critics point to concerns voiced by commentators associated with Le Monde, Les Échos, and TechCrunch about sustainability of incubator funding, potential conflicts of interest with corporate partners such as Renault-Nissan and Airbus, and the industry-wide debate highlighted by The Guardian and Wired over the effectiveness of short-term acceleration versus long-term incubation. Regulatory and policy observers from OECD and European Commission have discussed metrics for impact, equity stakes, and public funding transparency in contexts involving institutions like BPI France and Agence Française de Développement.
Category:Startup incubators Category:Organizations based in Paris