Calais’ digital/IT ecosystem

Situated in the Hauts-de-France, France’s northernmost region, Calais is strategically located in the north-west of Europe.

Greater Calais has developed several strategic initiatives to accelerate tech companies’ growth and to make it easier for them to set up in Calais.

Excellent conditions

As the closest French city to the UK, Calais is strategically located for different kinds of digital companies including datacentres. There are several reasons for this:

• A hotspot for digital information exchange between the UK and Europe, particularly in regards to the City of London
• Eurotunnel group: high voltage routing due to Graveline and Eleclink’s power station which requires a lot of electricity
• “Smart borders” at the port and tunnel with enhanced control due to Brexit: “Peer port” strategy with the UK
• Business parks equipped with fibre optic broadband
• Large rail-served plots of land
• Incubator run by the local chamber of commerce
• Calais Digital and Innovation Centre (MDNI) with a fablab to develop the local tech and innovation ecosystem. Coworking spaces available.

A digital hub in the north of France

Calais has a thriving digital ecosystem thanks to the tech companies that are already located there:

ALCATEL NETWORK SUBMARINE

• World leader in fibre optic broadband
• Main production site in Calais
• 600+ jobs
• Consistent growth

NEXAN and PRYSMIAN are also present in Calais and work with ASN, the French Nuclear Safety Authority.

Tech niches in Calais

Greater Calais has developed structures to facilitate the growth of local tech companies and make it easier for new digital companies to set up locally:

• Multiple fibre-optic companies: suppliers, service providers, Nuclear Safety Authority partners and clients.
• Digital companies and start-ups in diverse sectors: logistics, market place, ecommerce, innovation, etc.
• Data centres of all sizes which work with the City of London and manage huge streams of data: GAFAM, Banking, etc.