The author is a writer for Sifted, an FT-backed site for European startups
In the university city of Lille, in northern France, a building resembling Google's campus stands in the middle of the Bois Blanc district – an area that 15 years ago was known for crime, drug dealing and prostitution.
It is now home to the main campus of startup incubator and accelerator Euratechnologies, nestled behind the red brick walls of what was once one of the country's most productive cotton mills.
Nearly 2,500 jobs were lost when the factory closed at the end of the 1980s, and the entire surrounding area was left deserted. After a few decades, it experienced a renaissance. Large companies such as Capgemini and IBM have opened offices, and there are many busy cafes and restaurants.
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UraTechnologies is France's first hub for startups – a major achievement in a country, at least in the tech industry, where many roads lead to Paris.
According to data compiled by the Financial Times in collaboration with Statista and Sifted, the campus boasts some of the best performance metrics in France, based on criteria such as record, infrastructure, mentoring and networking opportunities.
But Euratechnologies is no exception: many start-up centers in Europe today are not located near the headquarters of venture capital groups or the capital. They have shown that with the help of government support and partnerships with regional universities, it is possible to become a household name.
Local support
Launched in 2009, Euratechnologies was an initiative led primarily by local authorities – which support incubator and accelerator programs – in partnership with private sector companies in the region, such as regional banks and insurance companies.
“Our success comes from a real desire from the local government to take an area that was a no-go zone and turn it into a technology ecosystem that has a real impact on the region,” explains Kosi Vaniki, President of Euratechnologies.
One of Euratechnologies' main selection criteria when recruiting startups is their desire to be based in Lille or the surrounding area. Once a company graduates from the programme, everything is done to encourage it to stay – including providing office space on campus at a much more attractive rent than in Paris.
As a result, with two batches of 100 startups joining each year, Euratechnologies has created a vibrant network of companies and founders.
“I came to Euratechnologies because they have a reputation of having a community of entrepreneurs,” says Michael Bruniaux, CEO of agritech Sencrop, who graduated from Euratechnologies’ incubation program in 2016 and is still on site.
“You get a lot of help from others from the start, and it makes you want to stay in the ecosystem. I currently mentor four or five startups myself.
“Second-tier” cities.
However, establishing a center outside the capital comes with challenges. In France, startups in the Paris region accounted for two-thirds of all capital raised in 2023, according to EY — which may mean founders are often reluctant to set up a company in other regions.
“We have launched services such as a case-by-case support program to raise funds, but we know we have to work on this because investors do not come here spontaneously,” Vaneke says. “Finance is the main issue outside Paris.”
But getting off the beaten track can also be an opportunity. In Germany, where most startup activity takes place in Berlin, Munich and Hamburg, Leipzig-based SpinLab is ranked as the country's second-best startup accelerator program.
Founder Eric Weber says targeting what he calls “second-tier cities” is a proactive strategy, but requires specialization.
“You will find startups in every industry in Berlin or Munich,” Weber says. “I don't think Leipzig can compete with that. What you can do is be able to compete in a niche subject and be the best at it, but that subject has to fit into the economic structure of the region.
Leipzig is home to a number of large regional companies in energy and healthcare – so SpinLab has partnered with companies such as natural gas group VNG, energy supplier Sachsen Energie, and health insurer AOK.
Regional partners pay SpinLab an annual fee to connect them with the accelerator's startups in their sectors — a model that has been successful in attracting entrepreneurs looking for clients.
Noah Lorenz, founder of digital health startup mementor, cites this as one of the main reasons he decided to join SpinLab in 2019.
“They're focused on health technology, and that was important because some of their companies were from that space,” Lorenz says. “For example, we were meeting regularly with the regional health insurance company AOK.”
From the student to the beginning
Another attractive feature of the city is the availability of talent, thanks to nearby universities and business schools, says Lorenz, who stayed in Leipzig after graduating from SpinLab.
Leveraging a campus to build a technology hub is an approach taken by many other regional startup incubators and accelerators.
For example, at three university campuses in France – Reims, Rouen and Paris – NEOMA Business School has launched an incubator program designed for its students, enabling it to gather future entrepreneurs directly from the university.
The Reims campus in eastern France is ranked as the second best startup hub in the country, and ranks 10th in Europe in terms of track record.
In the UK, where startups in London, Oxford and Cambridge receive three times the funding they do in the rest of the country, incubator network SETsquared has placed its bets on partnerships with universities in Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter and Southampton. And sari.
“We set up SETsquared because there was very good activity going on at these universities,” says David Brim, director of the SETsquared incubator in Southampton. “But because they were regional universities, there were fewer people fighting over that activity to engage in.”
SETsquared's Southampton campus is ranked as the UK's leading startup hub – the only one in the country's top five outside of London – and is ranked third across Europe.
Since about a quarter of startups come from within partner universities, the incubator has a ready base of future founders. However, many entrepreneurs also come from outside the partnership, attracted by the first-class research facilities and high-quality talent they have access to.
But what was key to the initiative's success, Brim says, was collaboration. “We have a lot more profile as a group than individually.
“Working together, across multiple universities, has given us the opportunity to strike at the same weight as Oxford or Cambridge.”
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