Firmly committed to boosting innovation—a real passport to exportation—the Walloon Export and Foreign Investment Agency and its French counterpart ERAI (Entreprise Business Rhône Alpes International) is campaigning tirelessly to pool their resources and know-how, thereby encouraging partnerships between clusters in the two regions. The aim: to facilitate the establishment of businesses from Wallonia and Rhône-Alpes in foreign markets.

The very first cooperative agreements were signed at the end of January 2014, notably in Lyon, between the competitiveness cluster GREENWIN, focussed on sustainable development and AXELERA, a cluster that specialises in chemistry, the environment and energy. It's a partnership that should enable its members to further promote cooperation in research and business policy.

Although the scope of the two clusters differs, nevertheless their interests link together. Thanks to this sharing of good practice, France will draw on Walloon expertise, with a view to aligning itself with the European framework programme for research and innovation "Horizon 2020". From Wallonia's point of view, this strategic partnership will offer businesses the chance to benefit from a tool that's entirely unique: "Incubateurs Implantis" (Implantis incubators). These structures accompany and supervise direct export candidates. They provide business coaching, offer advise in creating subsidiaries and recruiting local labour, open their networks and work on potential financing.

Large companies such as SOLVAY, which has set up both in Wallonia and the Rhône-Alpes region, have also fully grasped this initiative that has the potential to boost growth in knowledge of particular domains and specific competences developed by SME's.

According to Les Echos, 1 February 2014