It’s hard to show up at work in South Africa at the moment and avoid the dark cloud of doom and gloom that seems to have settled over our economy. But there are always rays of sunshine trying to peek through the clouds and our spirits were lifted to hear that Cape Town has been selected as the location of the new French Tech Hub.
Cape Town joins the cities of Moscow, New York, San Francisco, Tel-Aviv and Tokyo as cities handpicked to ‘foster the growth of start-up companies and to promote innovation’ by the French Minister of the Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs.
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The Hub will function as a bridge between Silicon Cape and the French Tech scene, and will be vital for start-ups looking to expand their businesses, meet like-minded investors, engineers and entrepreneurs, and as entry point for South African investors, entrepreneurs and engineers looking to explore opportunities in France.
There are many aspects of the partnership to explore via the website. One such example is the chance to launch your startup in Paris, via a 6-month residency at a French Tech Incubator.
The project has the backing of some of the biggest names in French business, such as Methys, Orange, Dassault Systems, Gemalto and EFRont. They all have experience in the South African landscape and will be able to advise new entrants as to how to make an impact locally.
Elisabeth Barbier, the French Ambassador in South Africa, said that she was ‘delighted that Cape Town has been designated as a French Tech Hub. This success rewards all the efforts made by a dynamic community of French entrepreneurs, rooted in Cape Town, who take advantage of the leading innovation ecosystem in Africa. This success will also encourage business and human talent exchanges between France and South Africa, in innovation and especially in the digital industry.”
This development takes place during a solid growth phase for French technology. The Deloitte Fast 500 EMEA rankings indicate that France has the largest number of hyper-growth firms in the region for the sixth successive year, and there is a firm commitment from the French government to sustain these numbers.
For more information, you can follow the hub on Twiiter on @FrenchTech_CPT or like its Facebook page at ‘FrenchTechCPT’
