Grand Nancy Innovation: Pivotal Actor in the Regional Innovation Ecosystem of the Grand Nancy Metropolitan Area
EBN IS THRILLED TO WELCOME GRAND NANCY INNOVATION TO THE EU|BIC COMMUNITY AS A NEW CERTIFIED MEMBER IN FRANCE
The EU|BIC certification is a mark of quality, recognising organisations that meet the highest standards of business support services to ensure innovative entrepreneurs thrive. It is a highly selective status, originated from and recognised by the European Commission. To qualify, organisations must document their impact and undergo peer-review verification every five years to maintain their certification. The EU|BIC quality is issued by the European Business and innovation Centre Network (EBN).
Grand Nancy Innovation (GNI) plays a crucial role in the regional innovation ecosystem, working in coordination with various partners to facilitate and support innovation. Recognised for excellence, GNI holds now the prestigious EU|BIC certification, marking its commitment to providing top-tier business support services in Greater Nancy Metropolitan Area.
The Greater Nancy Metropolitan Area, with 257,500 inhabitants and 134,700 jobs, is the second-largest metropolitan area in the Grand Est region, following Strasbourg. The area is known for its strong focus on tertiary activities and substantial public sector employment, linked to administration, culture, health, and higher education sectors.
Strategic orientations for the metropolis include positioning itself as a health stronghold, leveraging its remarkable healthcare resources and integrating research and innovation into production processes. The area aims to become a leader in energy innovation, focusing on post-carbon economy sectors such as hydrogen, renewable energy equipment manufacturing, water management, energy efficiency, and CO2 recovery. Additionally, it supports the entire food industry value chain, fostering synergies between food and other local policies, with a growing network of foodtech companies.
GNI’s Mission and Focus Areas
GNI’s mission is to transform Greater Nancy into a bold, agile, successful, and creative region, spearheading major industrial, digital, energy, and ecological transitions. With the support of economic and academic partners, GNI has been appointed as the operator to provide optimal support for project promoters, innovation, and businesses. Key areas of focus include new technologies with high transformative potential, transdisciplinary approaches, transforming value chains, digital marketing, and addressing sobriety and climate issues. As a RETIS-certified technology park, GNI ensures local networking of innovation players, animates the territorial ecosystem, supports the success of innovative companies and projects, and facilitates the residential journey of innovative companies.
Comprehensive Support Services for Entrepreneurs and Startups
For entrepreneurs and startups, GNI offers tailored incubation programmes providing resources, mentorship, and guidance for early-stage startups, and continues to support startups post-incubation to ensure sustained growth. The “Make Your Startup Deeptech” initiative provides specialised support for developing deeptech solutions. For existing companies, GNI offers strategic development coaching and support for leveraging innovative solutions in their development or redevelopment efforts, along with assistance in creating spin-off companies from existing businesses or research institutions.
Tailored Support for Companies and Research Players
Companies looking to reinvent themselves through innovation can benefit from GNI’s tailored support and open innovation initiatives, facilitating collaboration with external partners for new ideas and technologies. For research players, GNI supports the structuring and development of collaborative research projects with private partners, for the development of platforms for instance. The emergence and co-leadership of thematic clusters promote sector-specific innovation, while large groups and local authorities can engage in open innovation programmes to collaborate with startups, research institutions, and other partners to drive innovation and address specific challenges.
GNI’s Comprehensive Programmes and Initiatives
GNI’s comprehensive programmes include the “On Board” pre-incubation initiative, designed to support project initiators in building innovative entrepreneurial projects and integrating them into the local ecosystem. The “Exploration” programme aims to promote and support innovation by companies in the South of Meurthe et Moselle region.
The “Start Me Up” programme provides market research, business plans, technical roadmaps, financial forecasts, and financing plans. The Impulse Programme helps companies identify potential areas of innovation, engage relevant resources, and organise major milestones for their innovative projects. The “Speed Me Up” programme offers strategic and operational coaching, product and service improvement, market access support, team strengthening, and assistance in securing necessary funding. The “Speed Me Up” programme provides guidance to enhance strategic and operational effectiveness, access to financing, improve production capabilities, support market access, and expand business operations.
For existing companies:
The “Impulse” programme aims at assisting existing companies in identifying innovation levers to activate in order to boost the development of the companies, it encompasses strategic workshops, interactions with higher education programmes, access to expertise…
The “Propulse” programme aims at propelling the desired innovative project by a 360 coaching covering its structuring, the roadmap, the partnering, the financing and the developing of the innovative project.
GNI’s Role in the Innovation Ecosystem
GNI coordinates with various partners to ensure a cohesive and supportive environment for innovation, driving economic growth and technological advancement in the region. By collaborating with Grand E Nov+, clusters, higher education institutions, incubators and accelerators, and local companies, GNI fosters a dynamic ecosystem that promotes innovation and entrepreneurship.
“The reviewing process was extensive and challenging but the preparation itself and the discussions we had were very useful in themselves. We had to ‘watch ourselves in the mirror’ and review extensively our activities. We are aware of our strengths and also the improvements we could implement such as better indicators tracking, our involvement in real estate, the agility of our governance, or the geographical reach of our action. We are glad to connect with peers internationally to learn from them, share with them and to pave the way for international connections for our clients.”
Romain Petit, CEO of Grand Nancy Innovation, reflects on the organisation’s rigorous review process
Through its comprehensive support services and strategic initiatives, Grand Nancy Innovation solidifies its role as a key actor in the regional innovation ecosystem, fostering an environment where innovative ideas and businesses can thrive.
For more information about Grand Nancy Innovation please contact Romain Petit romain.petit@grandnancy-innovation.eu
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