The creation of businesses is one of the major pillars of the economic development strategy of the Metropolis within the framework of the Plaine du Var National Interest Operation (OIN). It was for this reason that the Nice Cรดte Azur business incubator was created in 2008, accredited in 2011 as a European Business and Innovation Center.
The welcome and support offering for startups has gradually been strengthened to reach 3,500 m2, enabling 62 companies with 290 jobs to benefit from this tool.
Yesterday, during the presentation of the fundraising of 7 companies and in the presence of the concerned entrepreneurs and public and private investors, the opportunity was taken to provide a “summary” of this strategic tool and its future evolution.
The main objective of the CEEI is to create an environment conducive to the creation and development of young innovative companies. The support team is comprised of 8 specialists.
In 2014, an Open Loft will be opened to encourage exchange and sharing among entrepreneurs, researchers, and students.
A FabLab named Ecolab CA will enable rapid progression from the concept phase to prototyping, from prototyping to refinement, and then to deployment.
Finally, companies outside the territory will be able to temporarily access CEEI’s services before establishing themselves in the area to understand the local economic dynamics.
All of this comes with access to Orange’s Very High-Speed Service with fiber optic connection.
If the path is right, the results remain very modest and far from the densification that is both a criterion of good functioning and an index of success.
The dream of Silicon Valley is very distant, whether it be the original south of San Francisco Bay or the many that have sprouted here and there.
Does this Plaine du Var have the necessary conditions for success? For now, we only have a pale imitation of a Techno-Valley, considering that the one in Tel Aviv-Haifa accounts for 1,200 innovative companies (some of which are already internationally renowned) and 700 startups.
Is there a culture of failure such that the percentage of sustainability between 3 and 10% after 5 years of existence is considered a success and not a failure?
Are we capable of accepting that those who fail, young geeks, engineers, researchers, and cash-strapped utopians continue to invent the world of… tomorrow?
