There we are, you’ve got a rock-solid target for setting up or purchasing a company and the business plan is ready and waiting. You’ve come to the right place – Strasbourg is firmly committed to offering concrete assistance for companies looking to set up in the area. The Strasbourg Eco-2030 roadmap actively encourages network-based governance and involves all the local economic partners (including businesses, local authorities, incubators, co-working areas, business centres and accelerators, laboratories and the University) in boosting the territory.

The roadmap sets out the clear ambition of a joint impetus for initiatives and encouraging the creation and purchase of businesses.

When you choose to set up your business in Strasbourg, you’re also choosing the most attractive city in France, and it’s not us saying it, it’s the well-known French topical affairs magazine, Le Point, which elected the city as the most attractive in France, based on economic dynamism, mobility and quality-of-life.

• Over 3000 ha of land are given over to business, hosting major development projects, innovation parks, business centres and incubators, office space, co-working areas and third places.
• Be EST Entreprendre and its network of operators (which includes BPIFrance, CCI, Chambre de Métiers, Adira and France Active) provide assistance throughout the business creation and development process for start-ups, VSEs, SMEs, manufacturing companies, innovation-led enterprises or major groups. One thing’s for sure, you won’t have to do it alone!
• If your business model is positioned in healthcare, high-tech industry, MedTechs or the digital economy, Strasbourg offers an ideally-tailored environment and an outstanding ecosystem where R&D is straining at the leash! It’s hard to keep count of the number of start-ups that have seen the light of day in the city.
• Strasbourg has a well-earned reputation as the European capital, especially as the Grand Est is the leading export region in France, after Greater Paris, and the 4th-ranked region for imports.
• Short supply chains, CSR undertakings and the circular economy are all part of the process for building a fairer, more responsible world and Strasbourg has taken the bold step of inventing a sustainable future, based on improving our lives together. And since 2019, Strasbourg has been the capital of the social and solidarity economy.
• The city enjoys excellent connections, with the TGV high-speed train arriving right next to the city centre and the international airport just an 8-minute train ride away. In addition, the Autonomous Port of Strasbourg is the 2nd largest inland port in France for transporting goods by river. With the excellent tram, bus and regional train networks, getting around in Strasbourg and its surroundings is easy and convenient, and is supported by 600 km of cycle tracks.
• Optical fibre is a significant feature in the city for very high-speed Internet.

With all this to back you up, all you need to do is find the ideal premises!

Strasbourg and the surrounding Eurometropolis offer a comprehensive choice of corporate real estate, which covers the needs of every business sector and company type, whatever its degree of maturity or growth potential.

Archipel: Strasbourg’s international business district

The international business district is right next to the European district and a quick 10-minute tram ride from the train station. Facilities are due to be completed in 2023, and major groups such as the Crédit Mutuel bank, Adidas and Puma have already moved their head offices into the district to benefit from the premium office space, logistics facilities, European institutions, hotel accommodation, underground car parks, shops, homes and even a new theatre, Le Maillon, within the development’s 12 ha. With its green spaces and location alongside the banks of the river Aar, its mixed-use buildings and the availability of 130,000 m² of development capacity, its appeal is hard to resist.

Nextmed: the leading European campus for medical technologies

The campus is located within the boundaries of Strasbourg’s civil hospital, right in the city centre and has become an international benchmark for enhancing healthcare and developing medical skills. Major international groups, such as Siemens and General Electric Healthcare occupy buildings next to leaders in medical innovation, which include IRCAD, IHU and CRBS, and over 25 start-ups (Visible Patient, InSimo, Fizimed, Protip, Serphydose and many others). The 30 ha of the campus act as a genuine innovation-led hub, backed by the 1000 m² of the pH8 business incubator for healthcare start-ups and new technologies, where researchers and students work alongside each other, and the future Technoparc, with its 30,000 m² for hosting MedTech companies and their offshoots.

Deux-Rives – connecting with Germany

This expanding district illustrates the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg’s vision of a 360° redevelopment, with increased links to Germany and to Europe. The site’s 250 ha feature 9000 homes, the Autonomous Port of Strasbourg (the 2nd-largest inland port in France), with its 320 companies and 10,000 jobs, and the Coop, a brownfield redevelopment for cultural activities and the social and solidarity economy. By 2030, some 30% of the site will be given over to economic activities.

The Strasbourg Innovation Park

The park is located in the centre of Europe’s major markets and has been specifically created to drive the development of companies specialising in high-tech and services for the future. Attracted by its location, pooled services and tailored real estate (including business centres and incubators) leading companies such as Schneider Electric, Alsachim, Thermo Fischer, Transgène and Altran have already moved into the park.

Strasbourg’s international airport

The airport area is home to over 100 businesses, with 1200 jobs in a location just an 8-minute train ride (trains every 15 minutes) from the city centre, and with excellent highway connections. Planes fly to over 40 destinations worldwide.

The Espace Européen de l’Entreprise business park

550 companies, including Orange, Deloitte, Fidal, Groupama and In Extenso, with 8000 employees, have their offices in the business park. The park covers some 300,000 m² of floorspace, with very high-speed Internet connections and also hosts the European School of chemistry, the CNRS research Institute and the IUT Louis Pasteur university.

The ÉcoParc Rhénan

This new business park, run by private operators, has been built on the brownfield site of the old Reichstett refinery, rehabilitated to host companies seeking land of all sizes down to 160 m². The site reconversion was based on an innovative ecological process and features excellent road and rail connections.

The Joffre Holtzheim small-business park

This 23-ha park offers 17 ha set aside for craft and small manufacturing businesses and SMEs. Backed by an investment of €11 million by the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg, Joffre Holtzheim also features a large area reserved for biodiversity.
The park is located with the inner ring of Greater Strasbourg and enjoys excellent transport connections.

The city centre, opportunities for new shops

Strasbourg city centre is the conglomeration’s main shopping area, with €600 million of annual net sales and 180,000 m² of retail space.
The centre has a catchment area of some 600,000 people with high purchasing power (the 4th-highest GDP/inhabitant in France) and features many leading global brands, such as Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Galeries Lafayette, Apple Store, Uniqlo, Starbucks and Primark.
The local authority ensures that both artisans and shopowners are well represented, driving a solidly-based commercial dynamic. Strasbourg has the lowest shop vacancy rate of any French city with over 100,000 inhabitants.

Business hosting facilities

If you’re thinking of starting a company in an incubator, using a co-working area or setting up in a business centre, then Strasbourg offers a wide range of business hosting facilities, details of which can be found on the Internet

5736 businesses were set up in 2018 (source: hosting guide)
Some 195,000 jobs (source https://www.adira.com/wp-content/uploads/strasbourg-eurom-2020.pdf)
€71,848 GDP/job, the 5th highest in France (source CCI : https://www.cci-international-grandest.com/sites/default/files/observatoire_export_grand_est_2019.pdf)