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1. Developing entrepreneurial skills through cultural activities

2. Support young entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative sectors

Developing entrepreneurial skills through cultural activities

Within some programmes related to cultural and creative occupations, students continue to develop entrepreneurial and management skills alongside artistic practice. This is especially true in courses linked to the commercial and strategic dimensions of the cultural industries, such as fashion, publishing, audiovisual media, design and other creative sectors. In current official higher-education offerings, these skills are increasingly presented as part of a broader combination of creativity, management, engineering and innovation rather than as a separate “business” track.

A good current example is ENAMOMA-PSL (Fashion & Materials), a master’s programme co-constructed by Dauphine-PSL, École des Arts Décoratifs – PSL and Mines Paris – PSL. The programme is explicitly designed around creative and responsible fashion and materials, and it trains future professionals in design, management and engineering, with a strong focus on ecological, social and technological transition. This is a more up-to-date example than the older “Paris Fashion School” wording.

More generally, there are many higher-education programmes in the cultural and creative fields that combine artistic training with project design, market awareness, production, legal knowledge, entrepreneurship or innovation. Because these programmes are numerous, diverse and offered by different kinds of institutions, it is not practical to list them all here.

Support young entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative sectors

The Ministry of Culture continues to support cultural entrepreneurship through several complementary tools. One of the most visible is the Forum on Entrepreneurship in the Cultural Sector (Forum Entreprendre dans la Culture), organised by the Ministry since 2015. In its 2026 edition, the forum will take place from 7 to 9 July 2026 at the Paris-Belleville National School of Architecture (École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris-Belleville). The forum is described by the Ministry as a space for meetings, exchange and practical guidance for entrepreneurs, artists, creators, technicians, experts, project leaders, young graduates and students.

The forum now covers a broad set of issues that are central to cultural entrepreneurship: the creation and management of cultural structures, financing, management, recruitment, ecological transition, digital innovation, artificial intelligence, export, mobility and inclusivity. According to the Ministry, the forum brings together, on average, more than one hundred round tables and workshops each year, and in 2025 it gathered more than 2,800 participants and nearly 400 speakers. The forum has also developed regional editions since 2017.

Support for cultural entrepreneurs also includes the IFCIC Award for Entrepreneurship in Culture (IFCIC Entreprendre dans la Culture Prize), which in 2026 is in its 11th edition. The prize rewards cultural enterprises or associations that have developed a remarkable, innovative, original, responsible and/or sustainable economic model or organisational form. It carries a total endowment of 30,000€ and is awarded to a maximum of five winners.

In addition, the Ministry now places strong emphasis on the broader ecosystem of support structures for cultural entrepreneurs. Its current policy explicitly aims to strengthen professionalisation through incubators, accelerators, business nurseries, co-working spaces, clusters, third places, cooperatives, employers’ groups, professional networks and resource centres. As a consequence, support for cultural entrepreneurship is not limited to information-sharing, but also includes structured accompaniment and professional development (Source: French Ministry of Culture, Support schemes for the cultural sector).

Finally, the Ministry also supports international missions for cultural entrepreneurs, with dedicated ‘Entrepreneurship in the cultural sector’ missions (“Entreprendre dans la culture”) organised in connection with international cultural events. This shows that the policy now extends beyond domestic networking and training to include international outreach and export readiness.