The tour was intended for a Brazilian delegation from the Campinas region in the State of Sao Paulo, led by José Luis Guazzelli, Honorary Consul of France in Campinas and Director of Techno Park Campinas. The delegation comprised over twenty participants, including officials from the Town Halls of Campinas, Vinhedo and Jaguariuna, and representatives from the University of Campinas and the Institute of Technology of Araraquara, the CPqD Cluster and the CIATEC technology incubator, as well as business leaders from the fields of ICT, telecoms, biotechnology, health, cosmetology and energy.

The tour included a visit of symbolic places in the Paris Region (the Biocitech Science Park, the INRA Research Centre in Versailles-Grignon), presentations of Paris Region and Brazilian clusters, and it concluded with the signing of an agreement at Paris City Hall.


On April 11th, the delegation was first received at IFA premises (Paris 14th) where they were shown the economic and fiscal environment of French innovation through presentations given by Vincent Berger, a lawyer from the Fidal firm, by Pedro Novo, Oséo Regional Director for the Paris Region, and by Mr David Appia, Ambassador for International Investment.
The delegation then proceeded to Biocitech, a science park devoted to life sciences and located in Romainville (Seine-Saint-Denis), where it watched several presentations, one about the economic benefits of Seine-Saint-Denis given by Isabelle Debernard, International Project Manager for Seine-Saint-Denis Avenir, and one about the origins and growth of Biocitech Park given by Jean-François Boussard, the science park's CEO. Then Gérard Poirier, Vice-President of the Systematic Paris Region competitiveness cluster, and Henri Cervello, Development and Ecosystems Director for the Medicen competitiveness cluster, respectively presented their clusters. The afternoon ended with a tour of Biocitech Park.

On April 12th, we welcomed them at PREDA where Hélène Tinti, Executive Manager of the Regional Promotion Centre at PREDA, and Laurence Kirsner, Business Development Manager for Latin America at Paris Développement, presented the Paris Region's innovation ecosystem, their respective assignments and Econovista, the interactive economic map for the Paris Region.

The participants then proceeded to the INRA Research Centre in Versailles-Grignon (Yvelines), where the centre's Communication Manager Serge Grégoire welcomed them and took them on a tour of the imaging laboratories and the phytology platform.
Lastly, the Brazilian representatives were invited at the Embassy of Brazil where they presented the Campinas Region, the Techno Park and their various organisations (the university, the cluster, the incubator and the companies) before their Paris Region counterparts. This was followed by a networking session where representatives from key Paris Region organisations like Cap Digital competitiveness cluster were on hand.

On April 13th, the delegation was received at Paris City Hall by Christian Sautter, Deputy Mayor in charge of Employment, Economic Development and International Attractiveness, for the signing of a Letter of Intent between the System@tic Paris Region competitiveness cluster, represented by Vice-President Gérard Poirier, the Brazilian CPqD competitiveness cluster, represented by Vice-President Claudio Aparecido Violato, and the CIATEC technology incubator, represented by Director Décio Sirbone.

Throughout the tour, several B2B meetings took place between Paris Region companies, including Biophytis and Oroxell established in Biocitech, and Brazilian companies.

The territorial tour was organised in partnership with:
Paris Développement, Paris City Hall, IFA, the Embassy of Brazil, Seine-Saint-Denis Avenir, Biocitech, INRA Versailles-Grignon and Medicen and Systematic competitiveness clusters.

If you wish further information about the schedule of upcoming territorial tours, please contact Hélène Tinti or Marie Bahsa.