Innovation Award
The application form remains confidential and will only be shared with the British Embassy Paris, the Franco-British Chamber and members of the Jury. Please read the full category criteria and terms & conditions before applying.
The Innovation Award celebrates outstanding innovation across business in the UK and France. Companies of all sizes and sectors are encouraged to apply, provided they have developed or adopted innovative solutions that drive growth, productivity, or positive change in the UK–France trade and investment relationship.
Applicants can be:
Technology and innovation play an important role in the Franco-British trading relationship. The UK and France are Europe’s top two tech and start-up markets, valued at £1.2 trillion and £422 billion respectively in 2026. New technologies, including AI, have the potential to revolutionise the way we do business, increase productivity and create jobs on both sides of the Channel. From digital transformation and clean energy to advanced manufacturing, life sciences and creative industries, innovation is accelerating growth, improving competitiveness, and addressing shared global challenges. The UK and France also collaborate closely on emerging technologies, research and development, and responsible innovation frameworks, ensuring that new solutions deliver economic, societal and environmental benefits. Innovation refers to the development or application of new or significantly improved:
We encourage applications from all sectors, including technology and telecoms, financial and professional services, energy, advanced manufacturing and creative industries.
The judging panel will be looking for a company that demonstrates:
Innovations should ideally have been developed or implemented within the past three years. Please answer every question below. Only complete applications will be considered.
Please give details of how your company has placed innovation at the heart of its commercial development. Please explain how this has impacted your business. (250 words)
Please give details of how your organisation has championed innovation within its sector, including the development, adoption or commercialisation of new products, services, processes or business models. How has this innovation delivered value for your organisation, customers or wider industry? (250 words)
Please give details of the impact that innovation has had on your commercial development in the UK and France. (250 words)
Please attach a presentation of maximum 5 slides that highlights other evidence to support your application. It can include product images, case studies or charts demonstrating your company’s growth. (1 attachment max.)
Sustainability Award
The Sustainability Award will be presented to a company that is committed to cleaner economic growth, through either low carbon technologies or the sustainable use of resources.
Businesses that can apply are those in the green economy space, focusing on technologies that improve energy efficiency and help promote sustainable energy. Alternatively, it could be a company that is supporting other organisations in reducing their carbon footprint, encouraging a circular economy, or modifying consumer behaviour. The winning business will be able to demonstrate it has put in place an ambitious and quantifiable plan to achieve cleaner economic growth.
Sustainability is a wide-ranging term that refers to business activity in renewables, nuclear, hydrogen, future mobility and other forms of clean technology. Critically, the business must prove that they have united economic growth with sustainable development.
We want to encourage applicants in the following sectors of activity:
Transition to clean energy
Clean transport
Nature-based solutions
Green technology
Green finance
Circular economy
Please answer every question below. Only complete applications will be considered.
Please give details of how your company has placed Sustainability at the heart of its commercial development in France and the UK, and if your company has a sustainability plan, how it has implemented this. (250 words)
Please give details of how your company pioneers innovative practices in Sustainability amongst your customers, supply chain and other stakeholders. (250 words)
Please give details of how your company has met or will meet the objective of its Sustainability plan, and if your company has joined any pledge, coalition or social initiative which inspires a better, more sustainable use of energy. (250 words)
SME of the Year Award The application form remains confidential and will only be shared with the British Embassy Paris, the Franco-British Chamber and members of the Jury. Please read the full category criteria and terms & conditions before applying.
The SME of the Year Award will be presented to a company that has successfully exported or invested into the French or British market for the first time. Despite the many challenges faced over the last few years, companies remain committed to exploring the French and UK markets, and recent trade figures are proof of this: in 2025, UK-France bilateral trade stood at over £100 billion.
This business will demonstrate a solid foundation, a strategic vision for international expansion and a commitment to exporting or investing in France or the UK.
The winning company will be able to highlight a high-quality product, service or idea that has exposed a substantial gap in the market within the past two to three years.
Criteria for the businesses:
Turnover (less than £25m), employees (less than 250), and gross assets (less than £12.5m)
The business must have been in operation for at least two years
This must be their first time exporting or investing into the French or UK market
The term SME is deliberately broad to encourage applicants of different sizes from a variety of sectors. Small businesses, start-ups and scale-ups are all welcome to pitch for this Award.
Please give details of your motivation to expand your business operations to France / the UK and how you planned your export journey. Please describe the greatest challenges you faced when expanding and what actions you took to overcome these. (250 words)
How will you make your initial step into the UK and French market a long-term commitment? (250 words)
Please give details of the impact the expansion to the UK/France has had on your company, and how you have adapted your processes in this new market. What are the lessons learnt from your expansion and what would you do differently next time? (250 words)
Franco-British Partnerships Award The application form remains confidential and will only be shared with the British Embassy Paris, the Franco-British Chamber and members of the Jury. Please read the full category criteria and terms & conditions before applying.
The Franco-British Partnerships Award will recognise a vibrant and successful initiative focused on Franco-British cooperation. We are looking for initiatives that foster bilateral ties by building on shared Franco-British interests and values.
The award-winning initiative is one that has had concrete and durable results in any key sector for the UK and France or on a priority issue for both countries.
The company must be able to provide evidence of its commitment to bilateral working and demonstrate a positive and measurable impact on the UK-France economic relationship. These initiatives can be joint ventures between a UK and French company to promote investment, a partnership between a UK and French company dedicated to exports on both sides of the Channel, a UK company involved in the delivery of key events in France or even an SME that has been working on market access to facilitate UK-France trade.
Criteria:
Please give details of how your company or initiative has worked to foster cooperative working between France and the UK in a sector or on a priority issue that is of interest to both countries. (250 words)
Please give details of how your work on this issue has unlocked an area of trade or investment for France and the UK. Please explain how you intend to work with France / the UK in the future. (250 words)
Please give details of how your initiative has had a positive and lasting impact on the UK-France economic relationship. Please describe how you measure this impact and provide concrete examples or statistics where possible. (250 words)
