A land of digital technology and opportunities, the sister island will be in the spotlight at the3rd edition of the NxSE Forum. This annual innovation and Tech event for Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands will be held in Paris this year (9 and 10 October 2018). Last year, for its2nd edition, the event organised by Digital Réunion brought together nearly 80 speakers from 12 different countries.
This year, the NxSE Forum will highlight the economic dynamism of Reunion Island. Its entrepreneurial ecosystem, an innovation hub for the Indian Ocean zone and gateway to southern Africa, will also be highlighted. As a French digital player in the Indian Ocean, this overseas department has risen to European standards. Reunion Island meets emerging African needs, making it a true strategic digital crossroads between Europe and Africa.
On the program of the NxSE Paris Forum
Co-organized with Outremer360°, the NxSE Forum will take place over a week. The stakes for this third edition are high! On the agenda: visits to investment funds in Réunion, Paris Tech Tour and “Pitch En Lèr”. The latter will allow all participants to attend an in-flight pitch. This exceptional competition will be held on an Air Austral daytime flight. The participants will then have the opportunity to visit the main thematic incubators of the City of Paris as part of the “Paris Tech Tour”.
Reunion as a strategic crossroads between Europe and Africa
Prior to the forum, eight investment funds will take part in an investor roadshow in La Réunion to familiarise themselves with the ecosystem, the companies and the start-ups. Companies from the sister island will be able to draw inspiration from the practices and know-how of the European capital, start-ups and companies with an appetite for the African and Indian Ocean markets. On the evening of October 9 and until October 10, the NxSE Forum will be open at the business center Étoile Saint-Honoré (Paris 8ème).
Targeted BtoB meetings will also be organised by the Paris Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry during the NxSE Forum. Also on the agenda: presentations of the ecosystem in the exhibitors’ village, conferences, thematic panels with cross-views of players from Africa, the Indian Ocean and Europe.
Reunion, a land of opportunities
As a structuring element, the digital ecosystem in Réunion is worth 1.4 billion euros in annual sales. This sum represents, on the one hand, the NSEs (Digital Services Companies): start-ups, training companies, IT services companies, digital agencies and consulting agencies, etc. On the other hand, it covers telephone operators and television.
The industry strategy is to make Réunion a major regional player in at least two ongoing digital revolutions: connected objects and blockchain. The joint commitment of companies, the State and local authorities to this increase in skills is clear. Indeed, the recent opening of several digital schools on the island by several major players in the national ecosystem (Digital Campus, ENI, Epitech, Isitech, Simplon, etc.) is proof of this.
“The combination of these regulatory and technological advantages makes us more competitive for engineering and consulting jobs than many neighbouring countries and is a major asset for the French digital sector in this part of the world” – Philippe Arnaud, President of Digital Reunion and co-organiser of the NxSE Forum.
ABOUT DIGITAL REUNION
The association of digital professionals in Reunion Island was created in 1997. Digital Réunion brings together the main market players in this sector. They all converge towards the same objective: to participate in the creation of economic, regulatory and competitive conditions favourable to the development of the sector.
The success of this3rd edition of the NxSE Forum is based on an unprecedented participation of local Réunionese companies.
