The City of Atlanta announced that the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs and Invest Atlanta have launched the 2017 Atlanta International Startup Exchange Program—a one-week international residency which will provide eight selected companies a platform for global expansion in either Toulouse, France or the United Kingdom.  

“We are happy to launch this year’s International Startup Exchange Program in partnership with the City of Toulouse, the U.K. Department for International Trade, Invest Newcastle and Sage. Our office works to provide Atlanta companies with unique opportunities and resources to increase their global presence and achieve substantial growth,” said Claire Angelle, Director of the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs. “The International Trade Administration reports that companies which export grow faster, pay higher wages and are more resilient than companies relying solely on the domestic market. We invite entrepreneurs throughout the region to apply for this exciting program.”

As part of the program, Atlanta will also welcome four startups from Toulouse and the U.K. to participate in Atlanta Cyber Week scheduled for October 1- 7 or Venture Atlanta Week slated for October 8-14.

“We look forward to building off the success of last year’s startup exchange by further strengthening the bonds between the Atlanta startup community with those in our sister cities of Toulouse and Newcastle,” said Kevin Johnson, Senior Vice President of Economic Development for Invest Atlanta, the City’s economic development agency. “Atlanta has become a top-ranked tech capital, thanks to our talent base, a growing cluster of 20 innovation centers and programs like this one that connect talented entrepreneurs from around the world.”

Toulouse and Newcastle were selected for sharing growing industries and strong, existing relationships with Atlanta. Over the course of the one-week residency, the selected startups will connect with local startup ecosystems, gain access to international conferences and engage with investors, business leaders and potential clients in the aerospace, smart cities and cybersecurity industries. Selected startups will also receive roundtrip airfare, accommodations, dedicated co-working space and ground transportation for one representative.

The inaugural Atlanta International Startup Exchange program was launched in October 2016. Atlanta startups Carbice and Partpic traveled to Toulouse while the City of Atlanta hosted Toulouse companies Uwinloc and Donecle.

The Atlanta International Startup Exchange program was awarded Sister Cities International’s Innovation Award for Economic Development.

The deadline to apply for the program is August 11, 2017.