Discover the actors from Nice who are boosting the economy of the metropolis, determined to enhance its attractiveness and strengthen its growth.
Composed of 49 unified municipalities since 2012, the Nice Côte d’Azur metropolis offers a diversity of sectors, both historical and innovative: tourism, life sciences, new technologies… This virtuous ecosystem, supported by all the actors of the metropolis (companies from Nice and other cities, associations, elected officials, the State…), has recently developed an attractiveness agency that will undoubtedly allow its Eco-Valley to strengthen its position among the “leaders of the pack” in France and internationally. Explanations.
The metropolis of Nice: a remarkable economic success
Headquartered in the city of Nice, the Nice Côte d’Azur (NCA) metropolis was launched on December 31, 2011: a first in France! It initiated profound changes in its territory, which consists of 80% rural or natural mountainous areas. Economic development, renovation or construction of modern infrastructure, planning and urban development, port management, etc., the metropolis has resolutely positioned itself as an incontestable economic leader in the region, notably thanks to its Eco Valley, the spearhead of a successful economic transformation of the region.
This proactive policy quickly boosted the metropolis’s economy, which in 2018 saw the creation of 9,300 companies and ranked among the top 10 metropolises in France in terms of the number of companies.
A dynamic metropolis driven by the diversity of companies from Nice
The latest study on strategic sectors, conducted by the economic observatory SIRIUS and published by the CCI Nice Côte d’Azur, showed precisely the various employment zones in PACA and Nice in 2014.
It was noted that companies from Nice captured nearly a third of the region’s industrial activity (1,138 registered establishments) across three distinct branches: the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, the electronic and electrical industry, and the metal industry. Among them, 37 operated in the chemical industry with a turnover estimated at €30 million.
Another sector: Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). At that time, there were 430 companies from Nice generating a turnover of €262 million in very diverse fields: Internet, software design, networks and telecommunications, electronic components and systems, associated services.
In addition, there were companies from Nice operating in the tourism sector or the silver economy, among others.
An accelerated development of the tertiary sector
Today, the latest figures published by INSEE on the actors forming the economic fabric of the NCA metropolis indicate that many companies from Nice and the region work predominantly in the tertiary sector:
• 31% in business services
• 27% in trade, transport, and tourist activities
• 22% in personal services.
This health of the companies from Nice and the region in the tertiary sector also reflects in the numerous successes they achieve each year.
This is the case of Teach On Mars, based in Sophia Antipolis, whose latest fundraising of €7 million at the beginning of 2019 allowed it to open offices in Milan and London. Indeed, the 100% mobile-first startup aims to rethink learning in a digitized world where the “e-Learning” offer has reached its limits. However, its world isn’t limited to the country’s borders. It proudly showcases its international ambition, which has been quite successful so far.
Another little gem is a company from Nice: Ellcie Healthy, which has just completed a €2.7 million fundraising. Founded by Philippe Peyrard, this startup has designed and markets smart and connected glasses with about fifteen embedded sensors. This allows for better management of health, well-being, and safety, especially in case of drowsiness at the wheel.
We can also mention the awarding of the INPI Trophy, Research category, to the Nice-based laboratory I3S last year. Located in Sophia Antipolis, this laboratory, specialized in applying artificial intelligence to information and communication sciences, perfectly illustrates the successful coexistence of the research world and the companies from Nice through the journey of its director, Olivier Meste.
Companies from Nice and the region show slow but steady progress…
Amid all these innovations anticipating tomorrow’s world thanks to big data and machine learning, it’s worth noting that the industry is progressing. Indeed, the metropolis now has 2,429 companies from Nice and the region. This is mainly due to the desire to develop very dynamic activity hubs, like the Carros park, which has grouped all types of industrial and logistic activities and associated services since the 60s and houses major names like Schneider Electric, Arkopharma, Virbac, Cari, Malongo, etc. We can also mention the La Vallière activity park, which spans 15 hectares in the commune of Saint-André de la Roche and groups 55 companies in the fields of materials, metallurgy, and mechanics, such as Hydrosanté, Métallurgie Rognone, Sud-Est Fermeture, Ciel, l’atelier Sibon, Façon’age, Azur Alu, Sertem…
While the number of companies dedicated to the industry remains low compared to the tertiary sector, their growing trend, which is confirmed year after year, suggests a bright future, especially since the metropolis is pulling out all the stops to boost the establishment of companies in its territory.
A new tool to boost the growth of companies from Nice and the region
During the 9th Territorial Economic Meetings organized by UPE06 (Union for Enterprises) in collaboration with CCI Nice (06) Côte d’Azur, Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice and President of the Nice Côte d’Azur metropolis, spoke about the creation of the metropolis’s new economic attractiveness agency.
“We need an effective communication tool to unite the industrial policy, tourism policy, and cultural policy; attract investments; defend a highly competitive local urban plan to attract new companies to our territory, so that is everything we federate through our new agency of attractiveness,” he said on this occasion.
And, the expectations are high. Philippe Renaudi, President of UPE 06, hopes that the creation of this new attractiveness agency will favor the establishment of companies from Nice in the Eco Valley, a multimodal center allowing them to shine in France and internationally. His credo: enable companies to benefit from attractive real estate, as well as their employees to reduce their home-work journeys. He likes to note that the tramway already drops passengers off at terminals 1 and 2 of Nice airport: a direct connectivity, a development challenge for a territory that the Grand Paris will only achieve during the Olympic Games…
In conclusion, there are many companies from Nice that allow the NCA metropolis to shine in France and abroad, especially in the tertiary sector (ICT, life sciences, silver economy…). Their momentum is driven by all the institutional actors working to create an entrepreneurial environment that fosters initiative and investments. The creation of this new attractiveness agency will further boost them. To achieve this, it can count on high-quality and interconnected infrastructure, like Nice airport (06) considered by Jean-Pierre Savarino, President of CCI Nice Côte d’Azur, as a “significant manna of attractiveness for the territory and above all an opportunity for companies to benefit from this gateway to the world.” Let’s bet that all the companies from the region will find the means to take off in complete serenity…
