Business France is the national agency supporting the international development of the French economy, responsible for fostering export growth by French businesses, as well as promoting and facilitating international investment in France. It promotes France's companies, business image and nationwide attractiveness as an investment location, and also runs the VIE international internship program. Founded on January 1, 2015 through a merger between UBIFRANCE and the Invest in France Agency, Business France has 1,500 personnel, both in France and in 70 countries throughout the world, who work with a network of public- and private-sector partners. Business France's three missions are: - Fostering export growth by French businesses. - Promoting and facilitating international investment in France. - Promoting France's companies, business image and nationwide attractiveness as an investment location. These missions include: - Offering customized solutions and services to foreign businesses and investors to foster exports, but also to detect, support and facilitate inward investment. - Playing a role in defining national and regional programs geared towards developing industries internationally and enhancing France's investment attractiveness, not least through sector-based and regional associations and greater synergies between firms. - Supporting the decision-making processes and performance improvements of exporting companies and industrial/financial investors in France. - Helping to optimize the performance of mid-size companies and innovative businesses to speed up their development outside their domestic market, leading to significant business growth. - Developing and managing the government-run framework underpinning the VIE / VIA international internship program. - Carrying out, overseeing or taking part in all international cooperation initiatives launched in its areas of expertise. - Monitoring France's image and economic attractiveness abroad, while coordinating influential international business networks. - Analyzing and suggesting government policy measures to support the international development of the French economy. - Drawing up, developing and rolling out effective communication approaches adapted to each of its targets, in France and abroad, to help meet these objectives.