Isaure Courcenet’s inspiring journey at the Startup World Cup France 2025 (Initiativ)
The year 2025 marked a milestone for the French entrepreneurial ecosystem: France’s first official participation in the Startup World Cup. To identify and showcase the French startups that would represent the country in this global competition, Startup&Angels (part of the Australiance group) organized two flagship regional competitions, including the one in Aix-en-Provence, which revealed an exceptional entrepreneur: Isaure Courcenet, co-founder of Initiativ.
Isaure Courcenet, winner of the Aix-en-Provence competition
A former prima ballerina turned deeptech entrepreneur, Isaure Courcenet embodies the diversity, resilience, and vision of the new generation of French founders. With Initiativ, she is taking on a global challenge: making commodity and carbon credit trading more transparent, accessible, and cost-effective.
Initiativ: building the markets of the future
Initiativ is a next-generation exchange designed to provide open, low-cost access to trading EUA, EUAA, and UKA — the main regulated carbon assets under the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).
The platform targets companies in the aviation, maritime, and industrial sectors, which must comply with increasingly strict carbon neutrality requirements. Initiativ is building the infrastructure that tomorrow’s markets deserve:
Trading that is accessible to all,
Efficient and cost-effective,
Transparent and secure,
Free from dependence on traditional intermediaries and dominant institutions.
By lowering the barriers to a market valued at over $1 trillion, Initiativ is helping to democratize climate finance and accelerate the energy transition.
Isaure Courcenet’s story
“It was the first time the Startup World Cup came to France, and that alone made it a big event. Pitching in Aix was worth it: we finally stepped out of the usual bubble, out of the mindset that ‘everything happens in Paris.’ The atmosphere was more open, more direct, with a solid audience also gathered for the Rencontres Économiques that same week.
Winning the Aix regional edition primarily launched real international support from Startup&Angels and Australiance over several months. I was a bit skeptical at first — we’d seen many accelerators before — but what a pleasure to have professionals like David Kenney and Mike Parsons at the helm. Not empty coaching, but real hands-on work: capital structuring, fundraising, sales, international expansion. Clear and concrete guidance on expectations in the U.S.
The grand finale in San Francisco was another world entirely — faster, bigger. Having studied in the U.S. before, it was refreshing to experience it again. There was a lot of health tech, hardware, energy — and startups applying AI to very specific use cases, not just GPT wrappers.
What you learn is that you can’t grow by staying only among yourselves. France has talent, but when we look in the mirror, ambition often looks like dangerous overreach for entrepreneurship. Over there, it’s the opposite — and that’s what wins.
Participating in the SWC is about confronting a whole new level of ambition. You come back wanting to accelerate and bring that culture of excellence home. The level is high — really high — and that’s a good thing.”
From the stage to the blockchain: an extraordinary journey
Before launching Initiativ, Isaure had an astonishing first career as a professional ballet dancer in Paris, London, and New York, after earning her high school diploma at just 14.
The 2020 pandemic marked a turning point. Isaure then shifted her focus to digital finance and political science, working on a World Bank-funded project, collaborating with the World Economic Forum, and authoring a 200-page study on government adoption of blockchain, presented to the European Parliament, FIC Canada, and the French Ministry of the Interior.
Selected for the Sustainability & Leadership program at the University of Cambridge, she now applies this expertise to a clear ambition: opening regulated financial markets to underrepresented businesses and fostering a more sustainable and inclusive economy.
Pitch in Aix-en-Provence — Join us!
Dreaming of presenting your project at the next edition? Pre-registrations for startups wishing to pitch in Aix-en-Provence are now open! Don’t miss this unique opportunity to showcase your startup, meet investors, and maybe even represent France at the Startup World Cup 2026!
About Startup&Angels
Founded in Sydney in 2016 by two French entrepreneurs, Startup&Angels is an international platform connecting startups, investors, and experts around the world. Active in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and now the United States, it organizes high-impact events, acceleration programs, and networking opportunities.
Startup&Angels is part of the Australiance group, specialists in internationalization and talent development. In France, its activities are represented by Inautalent, a joint venture between Australiance and Auvalie Innovation, dedicated to innovation recruitment and financing.
👉 Learn more: www.startupandangels.com
