A totem place for young business leaders in Vénissieux

Following the success of the hubs in Givors, La Duchère, and Neuville-sur-Saône, a new LYVE (Lyon City of Entrepreneurship) space is emerging in Vénissieux. The construction site, well underway, was officially presented by Bruno Bernard, president (Les Ecologistes) of the Lyon Metropolitan Area; Fabrice Rosay, prefect and secretary general of the Rhône; and Michèle Picard, mayor (PC) of Vénissieux.

The building, located on the former Bosch site along Boulevard Marcel-Sembat, will span three floors. Covering 1,800 m², it will house nine workshops, seventeen offices, and a coworking space. The business space will range from 200 m² to 10,000 m². The project will feature a green roof with over 250 m² of photovoltaic panels.

Voted on December 13, 2021 by the metropolitan council, the LYVE project in Vénissieux should make it possible to " accelerate the entrepreneurial dynamics of the municipalities in the eastern metropolitan area", where, "in ten years, the number of companies has more than doubled ", explained Bruno Bernard, the president of the Lyon Metropolis at the time.

Within the site, professionals will be able to develop their entrepreneurial projects thanks to the resources made available by the Metropolis' Lyve program. This program draws on a large network of 300 entrepreneurs, trainers, and entrepreneurship specialists. Over the past two years, the three hubs already established in the area have " achieved or even exceeded their objectives ," the Metropolis stated.

During the LYVE festival , which took place on March 26 and 27, the Vice-President of the Metropolis responsible for the economy, Émeline Baume had hailed "a unique opportunity to dive into the world of entrepreneurship, explore new perspectives and take the plunge with confidence ."

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Led by the Lyon Metropolitan Area, the project has a budget of €4.8 million, co-financed by the European Union (€2.5 million), the French government (€1 million), and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region (€500,000). Completion is scheduled for February 2026, with a public opening planned for the spring.

"This future LYVE hub is much more than a building," said Bruno Bernard. "It's an open door for all those who dare to take action. The goal is to optimize these sites and have as many activities as possible ."

The president of the Lyon Metropolitan Area recalled that each year, more than 30,000 businesses are created in the metropolitan area. Since 2019, 54,000 additional jobs have been created in the private sector. The elected official added that Lyon was the second most attractive hub behind Paris for foreign investors . “This project will be teeming with life and excitement,” added Fabrice Rosay, prefect and secretary general of the Rhône prefecture. “This kind of site is where ideas, projects, economic and entrepreneurial initiatives are born.”

The LYVE initiative draws on a network of 300 partners and offers three flagship programs: EARLYVE for ideation, LYVE IN for business acceleration, and LYVE UP for development. Complementary programs such as GRAND 8 and PÉPITES target hyper-growth companies.

To date, this network has supported nearly 6,000 projects, created 270 jobs, and hosted 90 businesses, with an impressive sustainability rate of 76%.

Read also: The Lyon metropolitan area remains the leader in attractiveness in France (behind Paris)