Actus des entreprises
business solutions Atlantic France - Digital / Nantes, the perfect location for tech business success stories
The Atlantic France region is a hotspot for digital entrepreneurship.
Over recent months, 7 promising companies from Paris, Lyon and other European countries have set up businesses in Nantes. This is further proof of its attractiveness for digital companies, which are drawn to the dynamic and welcoming ecosystem, the talent available for recruitment, the many business opportunities and a strong support from public bodies.
Lydia: the French fintech which achieved unicorn status
Lydia is a “super-app” for managing money. The company, which was created in 2011, raised $100 million in December and became a unicorn (a company that reaches a value of $1 billion without being listed on the stock market).
The fintech company offers financial services in France, but also in Spain and Portugal, and plans to reach 10 million users by 2025. Lydia has chosen Nantes as the location to set up its first office outside Paris and is planning to recruit more than 50 customer service professionals.
Nantes is the city that best meets the criteria we have set for ourselves: quality of life for future employees of the Nantes office, depth of the talent pool for the profiles we are looking for, a strong local economic network (including a very dynamic digital ecosystem), and geographic proximity to Paris. In addition, we were convinced by the strong spirit of support and mutual aid that exists in the local startup community. This allowed us to plan for the long term.
Arbia Khelifi, Nantes Customer Service Manager, on Nantes Saint-Nazaire development agency website
OpenClassrooms: the leader in online education
OpenClassrooms is an online education platform which offers free and paid courses. Registered with the French Ministry of National Education, it can deliver bachelor-level and master-level diplomas. The company was founded in 2013 and employs more than 500 people in Paris, London and New York.
After the evolution of the company’s teleworking policies, more than 40 employees have come to work remotely in Nantes over the last months. OpenClassrooms therefore chose Atlantic France as the place to install its first office outside Paris. The team is based at the coworking place, Le Palace.
Decathlon Technology: developing a digital platform for athletes
Decathlon Technology is dedicated to the digital innovation projects of the global distributor of sports equipment, Decathlon. The branch currently employs 3,000 people around the world and chose the cities of Paris, Lyon and Nantes as locations to base a “distributed team”.
More than 20 people, mainly developers, will be recruited for the Nantes office in the next months. They will work on the “athlete’s digital platform”, a major R&D project led by Decathlon, which aims to cover all sports needs, offering a full range of services: rental of sporting goods, online coaching sessions, reservation of activities or accommodation, etc.
We want to facilitate the recruitment of our teams by joining promising job pools, meeting digital solution partners via dynamic local ecosystems, experimenting with networking, but also getting closer to some of our flagship brands, such as Tribord in La Rochelle […] Nantes is particularly rich in startups, publishers and consulting companies, and it is a dynamic and very open network.
Baptiste Turquet, Office Manager Decathlon Digital Nantes, on Nantes Saint-Nazaire development agency website
Sully Group: 40 years of experience in B2B digital services
Sully Group is an IT company which was created in Lyon 40 years ago. The group, which belongs to 35 of its own associates, has developed a network of agencies in France and Morocco. Nantes was chosen to host the 8th office, and the company plans to recruit more than 15 people by the end of the year. The company already works for clients in Atlantic France, such as the Oryx group.
It was logical to choose Nantes, one of the most dynamic French cities in the digital field. Its ecosystem is particularly rich.
Frédéric Pinson, Office Manager Sully Group Nantes, on Nantes Saint-Nazaire development agency website