Indian giant Zoho chooses Lille for its French expansion A strategic location supported by a high-performance local ecosystem.

A strategic choice: Lille, the European crossroads for business

Zoho’s decision to locate in Lille gives it a privileged geographical position. Located less than an hour from Paris, with direct connections to major European capitals, Lille is a nerve center for professional travel and international business.

The choice of Lille reflects a growing trend among international companies, who increasingly prefer regional cities, offering a better quality of life and lower costs than major capitals such as Paris.

Key support from Hello Lille for fast, efficient integration

Setting up a foreign company involves many challenges, but the support provided by Hello Lille made every step of the process easier. From the outset of the project, Hello Lille’s “Invest” team played a decisive role, mobilizing its network to find suitable real estate solutions and opening doors with local partners.

APEC: an essential lever for talent recruitment in Lille

For Zoho, recruiting qualified profiles was a priority. The company was quick to call on Hello Lille to help us meet this challenge, which put them in touch with APEC (Association pour l’Emploi des Cadres), a key player in recruitment in the region. This invaluable partner was involved in various key phases of the recruitment process: writing job descriptions, distributing advertisements to experienced candidates meeting the company’s requirements, and upstream pre-selection.

“We were able to put together a quality local team, which was a major initial challenge,” says Thomas Ciezar with satisfaction. “The collaboration with APEC, facilitated by Hello Lille, was decisive. We found candidates with both the technical know-how and professional experience we were looking for.”

With a team expected to reach 15 employees by the end of 2024, Zoho is now well positioned to strengthen its presence in the French market and expand its sales and technical activities.

Growth prospects and local integration: Zoho’s new home in Lille

Zoho’s successful establishment in Lille is part of a long-term strategy to develop local partnerships and integrate the economic ecosystem of this highly dynamic region. The company is already exploring collaborations with key regional structures and plans to actively participate in regional innovation initiatives – all facilitated by Hello Lille.

Zoho’s example illustrates the attractiveness of the European Metropolis of Lille for international companies. The support of Hello Lille, combined with strategic partnerships such as that with APEC, demonstrates the effectiveness of high-quality local support, capable of transforming a location into a genuine economic success.