Digital Lille

The IT ecosystem in the Lille metropolitan area is particularly dense, with key industry players such as OVH, CapGemini, Microsoft and IBM making their home here, giving young people the opportunity to work alongside local nuggets.

Thanks to the French Tech label and EuraTechnologies, the center of excellence dedicated to the digital sector, nuggets and students alike are learning at the heart of innovation, right alongside the giants.
The industry is also taking shape thanks to collaborative initiatives: Syntec numérique, AD2N, Cap Digital, Cité de l’AI and Invest In Digital People.
To ensure that these companies, start-ups, students, researchers, associations and networks have the opportunity to continue innovating in their activities, the public authorities had to provide them with the best possible environment. That’s why the whole of France is covered by very high-speed broadband, making room for projects in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud, open data and e-commerce.

Why Choose Lille?

10% of the Grandes Ecoles Numériques programs are located in our region.

Lille designated French Tech capital: its ecosystem is recognized as welcoming and encouraging for the digital entrepreneurial dynamic.

Very high-speed broadband

Regular industry gatherings: Connect Lille, Talent Fair, Forum InCyber (International Cybersecurity Forum).

Nearly 3,000 companies, 89% in services, notably programming, consulting and IT activities (RCS 2022).

1,517 training courses(all levels; digital or physical) in Hauts-de-France.

AN ECOSYSTEM CONDUCIVE TO INNOVATION, WITH 11 RESEARCH PLATFORMS, INCLUDING 8 WITH EQUIPEX+ ACCREDITATION.

Wenov: a 23,000m² campus in the heart of EuraTechnologies, where future entrepreneurs and digital talents are trained. Designed to welcome all talents with a training or business creation project related to digital technology. Wenov is the 1st Northern European campus 100% dedicated to learning new technologies and innovation.

To alleviate recruitment difficulties, Invest In Digital People: a pioneering local program to get people back into the digital workforce, initiated by ESNs with the support of Pôle Emploi.

In 5 years, the number of digital companies in the Lille area has risen by 53%, reaching a total of 993 in 2020. (sc RCS 2022).

2 Sites of excellence dedicated to digital

EuraTechnologies

A site of excellence dedicated to digital technology and one of Europe’s leading incubators, it brings together 200 project leaders a year in 7 verticals: PropTech, Retail/E-commerce, FinTech/InsurTech, Cybersecurity, AgTech/GreenTech, EdTech/HRTech, Industries/Robotics/SpaceTech.

More about Euratechnologies

Plaine Images

In Roubaix-Tourcoing, on the theme of creative industries: audiovisual, gaming, augmented and virtual reality, design (serious game/e-learning, animation, digital marketing, events…) and the technologies that complement them.

More about Plaine Images

Focus

French Tech Lille coordinates a network of local start-ups and companies. Their aim is to create and transform the region’s start-ups into scale-ups, companies with strong international growth potential, creating value and, above all, jobs. To achieve this, they focus on four key areas: Finance, Talent, International and “Tech4Good” (sustainable & inclusive technology) through support programs such as French Tech Central, French Tech Tremplin and French Tech Visa.

French Tech Lille organizes a large number of events throughout the year, including Incredible Tech, Amazing Ladies, Semaine du Numérique en Hauts de France and Tech&Fab Summit.

Cybersecurity a European commitment

While we all dream of unburdening our clouds and brains of passwords, companies and individuals alike are regularly the victims of high-performance hackers. As part of the dynamic European response to these cyber attacks, Lille hosted the InCyber Forum (International Cybersecurity Forum) for the sixteenth time in 2023, bringing together over 20,000 visitors from more than 80 different countries.

The Lille Cyber Campus, the 1st territorial cyber campus, offers 3,500 m² of private and shared workspaces. The aim of the project is to bring together regional players in the field of digital security under one roof, in order to protect companies in the Hauts-de-France region and promote French excellence in this field.

The objectives of the Cyber Campus are to