Provence Promotion celebrated at 20 - towards new horizons

Prospects on the rise and an expanding "Invest in Provence" community

Attracting corporate investment to Provence… The Provence Promotion leitmotiv had a special ring to it on November 22 for the traditional Invest in Provence Awards ceremony taking place at the Marseille Provence Airport’s panoramic lounge, at which the Aix-Marseille Provence investment agency was celebrating 20 years of market development and promotion work in France and overseas. It was an evening for looking back and taking stock of the 1200 or so investment projects successfully completed over the period. Looking to the future, Provence Promotion will be reinforcing its strategy for attracting new investors to the region, in particular through the joint development of an external relations program for the commiunication side and an identification of core functions for the market development side.

As a sign of an increasing internationalization, business leaders from France, the US, Morocco, India and China gathered at Marseille Provence Airport’s panoramic lounge on November 22 last to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Provence Promotion.

Since its creation in 1998, the economic development agency has provided support for 1200 successful investment projects and contributed to the creation of some 30,000 jobs in the Bouches-du-Rhône département.

France’s third-largest development agency in terms of number companies' implanted is responsible for promoting the region’s attractiveness with foreign investors, with increasing success as the recent announcement of the arrival of the Chinese Quechen Silicon Chemical in Fos-sur-Mer and the Indian IT major Infosys in Marseille attest. For many years now, the share of foreign investment in the region has surpassed 50%.

Prospects on the Up for Provence Promotion

“Provence Promotion is a very effective tool destined to make Aix-Marseille-Provence a business mecca at the crossroads between Europe and the Mediterranean. The agency attracts talent and entrepreneurs from all over the world and provides them with assistance in order to foster sustainable job creation across the region,” underlines its president Jean-Luc Chauvin. The president of the Marseille-Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry predicts an increase of 13% in foreign investment in the Bouches-du-Rhône in 2018 and an even bigger surge in 2019. 

Béatrice Aliphat, vice-president of Provence Promotion, and vice-president of the Metropolitan Authority in charge of industry, for her part stressed the thorough work carried out by the teams led by Philippe Stéfanini in market researching, assisting companies in finding the best site for their location and helping relocate executives, employees and their families. Out of the 600 contacts established each year, one in ten decides to set up in the region.

To extend its range of action, Provence Promotion is committed to employing new levers for its promotional work. To this end, the investment agency has been given the stewardship of Massilia Mundi, which will provide it with an extensive network of ambassadors for the region, a real advantage in terms of visibility and influence. New synergies with the international network of Massilia Mundi’s Massiliens are already in preparation. For the "Salon de l'Immobilier d'Entreprise", business real estate show taking place in Paris from December 5-7, the Parisian Massiliens have been invited to come and find out more about the key projects underway in the region on the “Aix-Marseille Provence, Capitale de l’Euro-Méditerranée” stand. Other campaigns are also being planned for 2019, in particular with the Massiliens of New-York and Germany and with regional developers and partners.

The “Invest in Provence” Community is Expanding

In keeping with tradition, the "Invest in Provence" label was conferred upon 36 newly-located companies including, among others, Groupe HN, O2 Quant, Bovlabs, Wesprint, Infosys and Quechen. The entrepreneurs, who received the award in recognition for their investment, chose Provence for its economic growth, openness to the world, diverse industrial landscape and the quality of life afforded to their employees. These four location criteria are constantly cited by the members of the “Invest in Provence” community, comprising investors from all countries and sectors of industry.

“We are in a virtuous circle,” says a delighted Béatrice Aliphat. “A company that is made welcome, in turn, becomes a promoter of the region.”