Sixty Nantes Saint-Nazaire companies spend a very successful week in Québec

In early April, some sixty companies from Nantes and Saint-Nazaire attended Québec Digital Week. Coordinated by the Nantes Saint-Nazaire Développement economic and international agency and its partners, this mission has resulted in five concrete business projects which will be getting underway shortly.

“You had to be there,” said Johanna Rolland, President of Nantes Métropole, who headed up the delegation. “Nantes and Québec represent two similar ecosystems: dynamic, forward-looking, and with a real capacity for innovation. This mission, unprecedented by its mobilization and scale, has enabled the 60 companies from the Nantes Saint-Nazaire metropolis to make contacts and develop economic opportunities that will benefit the region and further strengthen its international reach. I am convinced that it is by working closely together as a united team that we will set up dynamic, successful and lasting economic and political partnerships between our two cities.” The companies who made the trip with the aim of establishing contacts or promoting their expertise in Québec have returned with dozens of ideas and projects, in terms of both partnerships and the opening of offices across the Atlantic.

Opening a branch in Montréal

The transmedia production studio Termites Factory is planning to open an animation studio in Montréal by September 2017. The digital companies Escale and BeApp in Nantes have also announced the joint development of a company specializing in the digitization of web and mobile businesses in Montréal or Québec.

Expansion through partnership

Another way to expand overseas is to partner with a local company. TransWay, a digital solutions editor for smart cities, is today exploring this avenue through the launch of an activity in collaboration with its partner Bleu Innovation in Montréal. “The new company, BizBizRide, positioned on the commuting sector, will be operational in a few weeks’ time, and will allow TransWay to honour its first customer order in Québec,” said its President, Nicolas Tronchon.

Partnership also facilitates answering calls for tenders. It was thanks to a partnership with the company Savoir-faire Linux in Montréal that Nantes-based Obeo, French leader in open source modelling software, was awarded a contract with the Canadian Space Agency and launched the development of remote control technology for rovers in space. This success was officially celebrated in Montréal on 04 April last.

Québec business centre Nuage B sets up shop in Nantes

Attendance at Québec Digital Week also served to promote the strengths of the Nantes Saint-Nazaire metropolis with Québec investors. As a result, Québec company Nuage B has announced the opening of a business centre in Nantes, representing a gateway to Europe for Québec companies. With a surface area of nearly 900 m², the business centre will host up to thirty companies planning to expand into Europe or Québec. “Of all the possible French cities, we chose Nantes for its economic, cultural and architectural dynamism,” said Philippe Gagné, Director of Nuage B in Montréal.

Web2Day: A delegation from Québec expected in Nantes in June

Proof that exchanges between the two ecosystems work both ways, a delegation of Québec companies is expected to attend Web2Day, the major digital event in Nantes that will take place from 15 to 17 June next.