2023 highlights - Incubator
2023 was another busy year for the Centrale-Audencia-Ensa incubator, with the quality of the projects incubated and the many significant achievements. The incubator has continued to guide and inspire the Centrale communities, particularly students, alumni and teacher-researchers.
Raising entrepreneurial awareness
In 2023, more than 800 students were made aware of the issue through the many information meetings, the monthly newsletter and the various events held throughout the year. This year at Centrale Nantes, in partnership with Nantes University's Entrepreneurship Mission, we launched Entrepreneurship Escape Games. The aim is to put ourselves in the shoes of an entrepreneur for 1 hour to discover, in a fun and interactive way, all the stages involved in setting up an innovative company. The year was also marked by a number of events in which we were partners, including Startup & Innovation Day, Weekend Dare, the Audace Competition and Spice Up.
The incubator's mission did not stop with the student public. In 2023, we tested and organised several event formats to raise awareness and inspire researchers, doctoral students and Centrale Nantes alumni. In conjunction with the BPI, we organised the Deeptech Afterwork with testimonials from 3 deeptech project leaders that we support. In collaboration with the Centrale Nantes Technology Transfer Unit, the Matrix Day held at the incubator enabled D2SE researchers to explore the entrepreneurial potential of their research work. To strengthen our links with school alumni and identify entrepreneurs, we have created Crash Test ta Startup, a bi-annual event that gives alumni the opportunity to challenge their entrepreneurial project in front of our experts.
The Deeptech Tour, an event organised by the BPI that we are involved in, brought together doctoral students, researchers and students. The aim was to help them take their first steps into deeptech entrepreneurship. We also took part in Doctinnov, an introductory day to entrepreneurship created for doctoral students and run by Le Pépite des Pays de la Loire.
Supporting our business owners
The year was punctuated by two calls for applications, and a total of 22 innovative companies with a variety of missions - Energy & Environment, Health & Wellbeing, Society & Consumption and Digital Innovation - were supported that year. 8 new innovative projects joined the incubator.
Of all our startups incubated in 2023, we have 12 impact startups and 7 deeptech startups, reflecting our determination to continue to support and accompany innovations that create value for society.
To help our entrepreneurs meet the challenges of entrepreneurship and provide them with the tools they need to turn their project into a success, we offer more than 230 hours of support and 33 workshops on the subjects of entrepreneurship and growth: Methodology, Strategy, Sales, Marketing, Technology, Financing, Legal Affairs, Management and HR.
Promoting entrepreneurship made in Centrale-Audencia-Ensa
The most significant event of the year, perhaps even of the decade for our incubator, was of course the 10th anniversary evening, which brought 2023 to a close in style. Over 200 people (students, entrepreneurs, experts, teachers, academic staff, alumni, funders) from our ecosystem and the school communities gathered to celebrate 10 years of innovation and value creation. To mark the occasion, Maddyness published an article on the complementary nature of the 3 schools.
In May, we were honoured to welcome Christelle Morançais, President of the Pays de la Loire Region, to the incubator, along with the 3 directors of the schools. 4 incubated deeptech companies: WaltR, Miura, Greenov and Farwind, had the opportunity to present their activities. It was a great morning, highlighting the importance of entrepreneurship in the region and the expertise of our schools.Our collaboration with the Region continued at the Paris Air Show, where we were represented on the Pays de la Loire Pavilion along with Airbus Développement, Miura Simulation and XSun.
In the spring, we joined forces with Pépite Pays de la Loire and other incubators in Nantes for the 2023 edition of Web2day, Nantes' meeting place for entrepreneurship and innovation, with conferences, stands and networking, organised by the Cantine Numérique.
In 2023, €6m of funds will have been raised by incubated start-ups and alumni.
It's been a busy year for the incubator, but also for the companies we've supported, with some fine achievements. Here are a few notable achievements:
- WaltR and Greenov were selected by The Arch as one of 100 innovative solutions to meet the challenges of the ecological transition
- WaltR raised €2m to protect air quality with its solution for monitoring pollutant emissions using space and ground-based imagery
- Miura Simulation has joined ESA BIC Nord France, one of the European Space Agency's incubators
- Healshape is a winner in the 1st promotion of the French Tech Health20 programme
- Stimcar has grown to 200 employees and brought more than 40,000 vehicles back to life in 4 years
- Articonnex opened its 4th and 5th warehouses in Rennes and Angers.
- Loyoly (formerly Wiink) has raised €1m with its e-commerce loyalty and sponsorship solution