AI, cybersecurity, innovation financing and inclusion: the Numeum Tour federates its ecosystem in the Centre-Val de Loire region around key topics

In Blois, the Numeum Tour visited the Cité de l’IA for a day dedicated to digital sovereignty. The backdrop: a regional ecosystem of 577 digital companies and 8,758 jobs, i.e. 1.7% of companies and 1.3% of jobs in the sector in France. Around Numeum and its partners, the morning session focused on skills, AI, cybersecurity, innovation financing and inclusion, with results already tangible via Numéric’Emploi Centre-Val de Loire.

577 companies, 8,758 jobs: the digital sector is taking shape in Centre-Val de Loire

The Cité de l’IA, avenue de Vendôme in Blois, hosted the 5ᵉ edition of the Forum de l’IA and the Centre-Val de Loire leg of the Numeum Tour. One objective: to show that digital is also making progress in a region that lies far from the major metropolitan hubs, but which now boasts solid figures.

The Centre-Val de Loire region is home to 577 digital companies, representing 1.7% of companies in the sector in France, and 8,758 jobs, equivalent to 1.3% of digital jobs nationwide. Behind these figures are ESNs, software publishers, public-sector players, laboratories, clusters and business networks that weave an already dense network.

For Numeum, this stage in Blois aims to :

• bring members closer to the entire regional ecosystem (political, economic, academic, associative, industrial);
• strengthen the industry’s image to attract talent;
• promoting diversity in the digital professions;
• promote local know-how ;
• provide concrete services to members.

Regional delegate Christophe Brizot sums up the tour’s ambitions: to publicize initiatives, highlight sensitive issues and have an impact on the day-to-day lives of companies and candidates alike.

A full day of debates on the subject of digital sovereignty

On the program: regional news, industry social update, highlights of Numeum in 2025, focus on theFrench Digital Team, presentation of Numéric’Emploi, cybersecurity sequence, presentation by DRARI Centre-Val de Loire, followed by a round table on digital sovereignty with Atos, Inria, BRGM and Numeum.

Valérie Dagand, Managing Director of Numeum, opened the meeting by reminding us of the organization’s position: ” Numeum is the leading employers’ organization in the digital sector, with over 2,500 member companies ” . She stresses the importance of a strong regional presence: anchoring major issues – AI, data, skills, regulation, sovereignty – in local realities, as close as possible to SMEs, ETIs and public players.

Alongside Numeum, Loir&Cher Tech, represented by its president Franck Bataille, positions Blois as a junction point between tech communities, local authorities and the economic fabric.

EDFN: a national initiative giving a common voice to regional ecosystems

Launched in 2025, theÉquipe de France du Numérique (EDFN ) was at the heart of the discussions. Led and financed by Numeum, this banner already brings together national and regional networks: professional associations, clusters, training players and sectoral groups.

For Virginie Royer, Director of Major Projects and Regions, this dynamic meets a collective need:

• share experiences ;
• convey common messages on major digital transitions;
• support initiatives in all regions;
• give national visibility to actions that are often very local.

In the Centre-Val de Loire region, EDFN is illustrated by the joint involvement of Loir&Cher Tech, cybersecurity players, business networks and schemes such as Numéric’Emploi. For one day, Blois becomes the place where these pieces of the puzzle come together.

Numéric’Emploi CVDL: 11 sessions, 90 candidates, 14 recruitments, 9 training courses

The Numeum Tour was also an opportunity to take stock of the Numéric’Emploi Centre-Val de Loire scheme launched in September 2024. Run by Numeum, France Travail, Opco Atlas and ADIRC, with the support of the Region and the State, this program aims to bring together digital companies and people who are far from employment.

Between September 2024 and November 2025, Numéric’Emploi CVDL has already enabled :

• 11 consulting sessions;
• 90 candidates interviewed;
• 18% of women accompanied ;
• 14 people in employment (permanent, fixed-term, temporary) ;
• 9 people in training.

Behind these figures: retraining, returning to work, changing career paths to occupations in short supply (developer, systems and network specialist, data expert, support and consulting functions).

The scheme is aimed at a wide range of people: jobseekers, young graduates, people in transition, people undergoing retraining, RQTH profiles and senior citizens. It offers companies a pool of pre-qualified profiles and a single point of contact to organize meetings, build career paths and secure recruitment.

AI and digital strategy: regional companies aspire to a skills upgrade

In the field, the needs are unanimous. Mélodie Maudelonde, in charge of digital transition events at Dev’up, describes a strong demand for increased skills in AI and, more broadly, in digitization strategy. Companies are looking to understand how to integrate AI into their activities, businesses and processes.

Christophe Douane, CEO ofInteligia, recalls Numeum’s leading role in AI. Working groups bring together members to share practices, reflect on the responsible use of these technologies and contribute to the construction of a European regulatory framework. Every company can find its place in this work and contribute its feedback.

Cybersecurity also takes center stage. Victor-Emmanuel De Sa, for CybeRéponse, points out that cyber is one of the five major risks identified by public authorities. In the Centre-Val de Loire region, cyber maturity remains low, which puts VSEs, SMEs and local authorities at particular risk. Victims often express the same surprise: ” Why me? I thought it couldn’t happen to me . “

The presence of cyber skills in the regions means we can reduce response times, take preventive action and better support organizations hit by an attack. Digital sovereignty translates here into a local response capability, as close as possible to structures.

For Béatrice Abadie, Opco Atlas regional delegate, training plays a strategic role in a more demanding economic context. Companies need to adjust their resources, while investing in the skills that will determine their future. Training is becoming a lever for resilience as well as a tool for transformation.

Tax credits and subsidies: levers for developing regional innovation

Digital sovereignty is also about financing. The presentation byAyming, our national partner, gives an overview of the assistance available for digital projects: tax credits, subsidies, regional schemes, national programs.

The challenge is to give SMEs, ETIs, start-ups and laboratories the means to develop AI, data or cybersecurity solutions, while maintaining a territorial footing. Through this funding, local players can create technological building blocks that strengthen national and European sovereignty.

This financial dimension resonates with the international calendar: summits dedicated to AI, European work on regulation, the rise of sovereignty issues within Tech7. Blois offers a very concrete illustration of these debates, at regional level.

In Blois, major groups, laboratories and SMEs work together to build digital sovereignty in the field

The round table on digital sovereignty brings together Valérie Dagand (Numeum), Vincent Sarracanie (Atos, Angers supercomputers), Jean-Frédéric Gerbeau (Inria) and Jean-Marc Trouillard (BRGM).

In the course of the discussions, a number of concepts were addressed:

• computing power and supercomputers ;
• modeling and AI research;
• industrial and scientific needs ;
• strategic data and resource management ;
• articulation between regional, national and European levels.

Digital sovereignty appears to be a shared project linking major groups, public laboratories, SMEs, institutions and local authorities.

In conclusion, Christophe Brizot reminds us that ” it is essential to publicize initiatives, highlight structuring themes, federate players and create concrete opportunities for companies and candidates in the region “.

In Centre-Val de Loire, theFrench Digital Team already has its colors, its playing fields and its talents. The Numeum Tour in Blois brought this collective together even more strongly around our ambition: to make digital sovereignty a shared project, driven as much by the regions as by the major capital cities.

Click on download to see a video of the Numeum Tour de Blois.