What makes the Principality so attractive?
In the conference room of the Méridien Beach Plaza hotel, the public was there to attend the Eco Club of the Nice-Matin Group organized in partnership with the Monaco Economic Board (MEB).
On the program of this first morning meeting of Monaco Business: the attractiveness of Monaco for the country and its surroundings. A major theme presented beforehand by Guillaume Rose. The CEO of the MEB then gave the floor to Christian Huault, editor-in-chief of the Nice-Matin Group in charge of moderating the debate: “We live in a world in full swing, first the pandemic, then the economic crisis, which have had a significant impact on our lives and those of your businesses.he recalled. So how does Monaco come out of these successive crises with its head held high?
“Adapting our model to new assets”
“What makes the Monegasque model successful is its ability to attract residents, investors, businesses, daily workers [45.000 Français et 8.000 Italiens chaque jour, ndlr] by adapting our model to their needs, replied Frédéric Genta. And to add: The Covid crisis of living has changed the way of and of working, it has accelerated the digitization of the world. Today, a leader who lives in London or Zurich can consider settling here.”
Consequence: Monegasque residents have changed. “They are younger, want to be active, invest, network, improve their quality of life and gain access to a strong cultural life”preferred the interministerial delegate to attractiveness and digital transition.
This is where the mission of the Monegasque government lies: to ensure that it remains attractive to these new assets that are driving the Principality’s growth.
Efficient economic and digital ecosystem
Among the undeniable assets of the Principality noted by our partners, “its location and exceptional quality of life” become an essential criterion after the health crisis, but also “its values and its strong Western style which have nothing to envy to Singapore or Dubai”recalled Frédéric Genta.
Monaco did not wait for the crisis to act. For several years, the country has accelerated work to modernize its services. A panel of digital tools has emerged: Sovereign Cloud, 5G, e-administration.
A transformation that the Principality has also initiated in the energy sector (tariff shield, investment in renewable energies in partnership with SMEG) and mobility with the development of carpooling (2,000 journeys per week today) and the use of to telecommuting.
The partners thus described the many mechanisms put in place by the State to support them. “The government is investing for the future. We have created various support funds. Among them, the Blue Fund has made it possible to support more than 400 companies in their digital transformation”added the interministerial delegate.
A new attractiveness plan
The latter insists, the real challenge of tomorrow is human. “Beyond the measures already in place, today we want to go further in supporting future residents. We are aiming for even more simplified procedures allowing them to invest, develop and create jobs. This is why, as a team with the MEB, we are going to meet them.”
A sometimes difficult project, he admitted, but which Monaco is leading head on thanks to an excessively fast and agile adaptation.
“This era gives an even stronger chance to city-states to count. This shows that an economy can grow from a distance without being dependent solely on its land. It is a unique opportunity to free ourselves from our territory”concluded the government representative.
Blue fund: relaunch through digital
After the health crisis, the Principality launched a colorful palette (blue, green, red and white) of support funds for the various sectors of activity aimed at reviving the economy. With the Blue Fund, the government has invested €20 million in 2021 to support digital transformation projects carried out by companies of all sizes and sectors. This represents financial support of 30 to 70% of the overall project. To date, more than 400 companies have developed them.
Funding and human proximity
Among the partners present, Loïc Chollet-Vergé, director of the Caisse d’Épargne de Monaco branch, and his client Fabrice Volpi, administrative and financial director of Monaco Digital, gave a concrete example of what attractiveness is Monegasque through their pair.
“As a bank, we make a modest contribution to the attractiveness of the Principality by allowing companies to invest. We intervene from the start since a company’s capital deposit will be made within a bank. Beyond that, our attractiveness will be played out through the support we offer our customers, thanks to expert bankers, but also to strong responsiveness and the development of digital tools for our customers at one of the key factors of Monegasque attractiveness is to bring these people face to face.”explained Loïc Chollet-Vergé.
“Entrepreneurs feel supported”
Support from which Fabrice Volpi could benefit: “Before talking about a partnership with the bank, I would like to highlight the many systems that exist in the Principality and support the entrepreneur in his installation. We feel supported with the proximity and availability of the various stakeholders. There are also in Monaco a particularity due to its small territory: a significant human proximity between the actors and managers which allows new entrepreneurs to get to know each other, to find skills or to have feedback from experience. are part of this type of partnership, in the constitution of the company, but also support in land, which is very expensive in Monaco.We have 2,800 square meters of premises in the Principality and we have just taken an additional 800 square meters financed by Caisse d’Epargne. The bank has also recently supported the development of Monaco Cyber Sécurité, our new company. thanks, because they allow us to be able to continue our growth.”
Another topic discussed is traffic. Black point of the Principality, subject to heavy traffic jams. “In our company, we have set up partnerships to offer electric bicycles to our employees, for example. We encourage travel by public transport and we are thinking about ways to promote more ecological mobility. We have few Monegasque workers, it’s a real question”, concluded Fabrice Volpi.