Dare to go international with Montpellier Métropole!
In 2024, local companies had no shortage of opportunities to position themselves internationally. Over the past year, Montpellier Métropole stepped up its international activities in order to help them expand into new markets while showcasing its strategic sectors. The goal of this effort was not only to help these comp+anies win new customers, enhance their competitive edge, and/or establish strategic partnerships, but also to increase exposure for the region’s assets.
The first major event was "Mission USA", which took place in two phases. The first, from July 22 to 31, gave stakeholders in the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) sector, one of the metropolitan area’s key strategic sectors, an opportunity to showcase their work to American studios and producers.
During this business trip, Montpellier Métropole also attended SiGGRAPH in Denver, Colorado, the world’s largest trade show for graphics and digital animation, with 9,000 attendees in 2024. For this event, Montpellier Métropole teamed up with the Cap Digital cluster, which coordinated the French pavilion.
Several Montpellier studios attend the show every year. Following its presence at SIGGRAPH, Montpellier Métropole is working to reinforce its support for these companies at the show by setting up an upstream support program with various partners to prepare companies and therefore help them reduce their risk.
In addition to promoting its CCI ecosystem, Montpellier Métropole also wants to promote its own assistance offering and services. The first interesting outcome is that this year, the team will bring American prospects, met at the event, back to the region.
Another highlight of Mission USA was the operation carried out with AD’OCC from November 4 to 8. This time, the mission focused on the healthcare sector, promoting the assets of MedVallée, the worldwide excellence hub for Global Health, and meeting with companies likely to be interested in setting up operations in the metropolitan area.
Six specially selected meetings and events were organized by Montpellier Metropole, which also sponsored a breakfast gathering for the French delegation attending the Prix Galien ceremony in New York. Several Montpellier-based companies have already participated in this prestigious award, including Sonup, which received the award for Best Digital Health Solution in 2022, and CILcare, which was nominated.
A previous stop was Boston, where both CILCare and Ventum Biotech are well established. In this Massachusetts city, Montpellier Métropole, together with AD’OCC, Invest in Toulouse, the French American Chamber of Commerce of New England (FACCNE), and the French Consulate, organized a networking evening for some 50 American healthcare and biotech companies.
China was another strategic market for 2024. From October 21 to 26, the institutional mission organized as part of the 60th anniversary of Franco-Chinese diplomatic relations and the 40th anniversary of the sister city relationship with Chengdu, was an opportunity to prospect Chinese companies in the healthcare and CCI sectors, and encourage them to set up in the metropolitan area. Talks are now ongoing with several of these companies.
And last but not least: Slush, Europe’s largest fund-raising trade fair. This event is held every year in Helsinki, Finland. Montpellier Métropole has attended for the past ten years, but in 2024, for the first time, the team joined forces with AD’OCC to prepare participating companies to optimize their presence at the show. Two key components were incorporated: a pitch competition in English, and workshops to teach companies how to use Slush’s renowned matching platform for making appointments with exhibitors and investors.
Mission accomplished in 2024! The year proved to be emblematic of Montpellier Métropole’s growing international presence, as it forged closer ties with major expert networks such as Business France and AD’OCC. Every trip organized abroad now includes a business dimension, reflecting the structuring of activities led by the PADEE (“Attractiveness, Economic Development, and Employment”) cluster into clearly identified industry strategies.
Leveraging this momentum, Montpellier Métropole will send a delegation to BIO 2025 in Boston, where they will build on the talks already held with companies they met during the operation organized with AD’OCC from November 4 to 8.
