SYSTEM@TIC PARIS-REGION announce its participation in the Innovative Business Financing Forums

Key drivers of innovation, SMEs play a major role within the SYSTEM@TIC PARIS-REGION Cluster. The involvement of over 60 SMEs within the Cluster justifies its participation in the Innovative Business Financing Forums initiated by François Loos, Minister of the Industry. The entire day of the 26th of September will be dedicated to the measures implemented in order to support small and medium-sized innovative businesses. The Forums will give the Cluster’s entrepreneurs the opportunity to share their networking experience within the Cluster and its R&D collaborative projects.

SMEs in SYSTEM@TIC PARIS-REGION fit the following requirements: they are positioned on the Cluster’s target markets and technologies, they invest in R&D activities and are willing to work in partnership with large companies, public laboratories and university research centers. The SMEs selection process reflects the Cluster’s wish to boost the role played by SMEs within the network. In return, the Cluster’s innovative SMEs can share technological and industrial strategies, make business contacts with potential customers (large companies) and financial partners (venture capitalists, business angels) and get involved in collaborative R&D projects.

Since its creation in July 2005, the Cluster has been developing close business relations with SMEs. This is mainly related to the Cluster’s geographic territory, which hosts close to 900 SMEs totaling 35.000 jobs in the Cluster’s technological fields.

During the event, the large groups and competitiveness clusters will officially show their support to SMEs by signing the « SMEs Pact ». This Pact will give Dominique Vernay, President of the SYSTEM@TIC PARIS-REGION Cluster, the opportunity to reiterate its commitment towards the Cluster’s SMEs by securing their role in the R&D collaborative projects.

The Innovative Business Financing Forums enhance the clusters’ strategic role, which consists in fostering growing SMEs’ development with one ultimate goal: making today’s innovative SMEs the leaders of tomorrow. Through this event, the French Government, large companies and world-class competitiveness clusters have allied to support high potential SMEs considered as the main drivers for a competitive French Economy.

About the SYSTEM@TIC PARIS-REGION world-class Cluster

At the heart of innovation, the SYSTEM@TIC PARIS-REGION Cluster fosters economic development, competitiveness and employment. It aims to:

· Maintain the leadership of large system integrators by supporting their R&D activities in the Paris Region

· Contribute to the creation and development of world-class technological companies

· Promote the Paris Region’s image of excellence abroad

The Cluster gathers about 200 industrial, academic and institutional players in the Paris-Region. The Cluster members work in partnership on R&D projects related to four target markets: Telecoms, Security and Defense, Automotive and Transportation, System Design and Development Tools. To date, 13 collaborative R&D projects have received financial support from the French Government and local authorities. The annual budget of these projects amounts to €200M per year.