La Reunion: The new internet paradise?

French overseas territory The meeting, in the Indian Ocean, it is known first and foremost as a tropical paradise. With its beautiful beaches and lush, tree-filled mountain landscapes, it attracts thousands of foreign tourists. 42 percent of its territory is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

However, it could soon become an important epicenter for the digital world, as An international consortium wants to install an internet node there, known in specialized jargon as a global digital hub. If this works, it could boost development and reduce unemployment, which is chronically high on the island.

The first steps have already been taken: in the spring of 2021, for example, the consortium companies installed an internet cable that is 24 times faster than the one existing in that place until then. “The internet in La Reunion is the second fastest in France, only behind that of Paris. It makes sense to improve the island’s connection with the rest of the world ”, Nassir Goulamaly, general director of the Océinde Group, located in Le Port, La Reunion, tells DW. Zéop, a subsidiary of Océinde, invested, together with other companies, a total of 50 million euros in this new cable. This one, called Metiss, has a transmission capacity of 24 terabits and connects La Reunion with Madagascar, Mauritius and South Africa.

“We are also planning another cable, which will link our island with India, a plan that will require an investment of 120 million euros,” explains Goulamaly. The businessman also aspires to build huge data centers in La Reunion. For this, it hopes to have the backing of private investors. “We are already in talks with international players that could invest up to one billion euros,” he said.

Digital hub: Europe in the Indian Ocean

For the entrepreneur it is evident that The Meeting will attract businesses as a digital hub with high-speed internet connections and data centers. “Right now there are five digital hubs in the world. Two are in the United States, two in Asia, and one in Marseille, France. But in the Indian Ocean there is a digital hole, and therefore La Réunion could be the ideal location for a sixth center, ”says Goulamaly. Also because the island belongs to the European Union and European data security standards would apply.

There are also excellent training opportunities, qualified staff, and world-class medical care. These arguments, Goulamaly hopes, they will convince internet giants like Google, Apple, Facebook or Amazon.

At least they have already convinced Béatrice Goujon, founder of the company Logipren and developer of an internet platform that calculates the necessary doses of remedies for newborns, since one in six prescriptions for babies is a harmful overdose, says the entrepreneur, who He is also a pediatrician.

Goujon chose La Réunion as the development center for his project, and not mainland France. “Internet here is as fast as in the Old Continent, and there are highly qualified personnel for our management and engineering positions. In addition, the local government subsidizes our salaries ”, Goujon explains to DW.

His company, founded in 2016, is already profitable and had a turnover of 2.7 million euros in 2021. Soon its platform will also be available in hospitals in Morocco, Spain and Belgium, while negotiations with British clinics are ongoing.

However, Goujon It is difficult to find qualified programmers in Reunion. In 2021 alone, the company opened 15 new positions, and now employs 40 people in total. “That is why it would be very positive for us if the island became a digital hub,” he says. “This would definitely attract more specialized people,” he estimates.

Increase interest

According to Stéphane Colombel, Reunion is already on the radar of digital companies. Colombel chairs the Digital Reunion industry association, which represents some 500 companies and a total of 5,000 workers. “We have more and more requests for information from interested investors,” he explained to those who visited the annual NXSE digital fair in the island’s capital, Saint-Denis, at the beginning of December.

The fair is now in its sixth edition. Compared to the first year, the number of participants has tripled. Building the data center would make the island even more attractive for these purposes, thinks Colombel.

In general, digital plans could help the island and its nearly 900,000 inhabitants boost the economy, says Philippe Jean-Pierre, professor of economics at Saint-Denis University in La Reunion. The unemployment rate is 18 percent, almost double the French average. “In the digital sector, several thousand jobs could be created, which would also generate jobs indirectly,” the academic tells DW.

However, building a digital center is not a panacea. “Not all of our unemployed will find a job in the next five or ten years; after all, most of them have worked in the past in traditional sectors and not all of them can train overnight in the Internet sector, ”says Jean-Pierre. (I)