The CMA CGM Group, a world leader in maritime transport and logistics, has made innovation a strategic priority and supports innovative start-ups.
ZEBOX: an international incubator and accelerator for startups
Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, initiated in May 2018 ZEBOX, an international incubator and accelerator for startups to create an environment conducive to their development. The selected project leaders benefit from tailor-made support to contribute to their success and give their project an international dimension. In 2019, ZEBOX supported 30 startups and since its creation, the supported startups have raised more than 10 million euros and created 50 jobs.
ZEBOX will continue its development in the coming months with:
- The upcoming opening of a new incubation hub in the Caribbean in order to attract entrepreneurs from the region and benefit from logistical specificities.
- The study of new partnerships in order to enrich the ZEBOX offer, expertise and network: CEA Tech, Innospace, Digital Hub Logistics Hamburg.
- The creation of a new “Energy” axis, a strategic development axis, particularly in the sectoral fields of transport and logistics.
- The creation of thematic clusters within the ZEBOX startup community including that of Green Tech.
CMA CGM Ventures: an investment fund in innovative technologies
Since its creation in 2017, the CMA CGM Ventures investment fund has been the source of numerous investments in innovative technologies, including:
- Nyshex: the first digital marketplace for maritime freight contracts
- E * dray: a software platform aimed at optimizing container routing operations in terminals
- Notilo Plus: Marseille start-up expert in autonomous solutions in the underwater environment
- Wing: French company offering an innovative urban logistics service for e-commerce
The objective of the fund is to support the Group’s innovation efforts in partnership with start-ups, by supporting them financially by acquiring a minority stake.
CMA CGM, stakeholder in the Carburetor and support for entrepreneurial dynamism
The CMA CGM Group actively supports innovation in the Marseille region and is a stakeholder in the Carburateur, an incubator for start-ups in the northern districts of Marseille. He thus supported 5 companies in the fields of transport, logistics and the sea.
After the success of the call for applications sponsored by CMA CGM in 2017, the Carburetor and the CMA CGM Group wished to repeat the experience in 2019 to stimulate entrepreneurship in partnership with large companies in the Provence region: PONANT and NGE Group. The grand finale brought together in December nine startups who came to present their project to a jury made up of experts mobilized by each company.