Digital Wallonia @ CES 2019

At CES, which took place in Las Vegas from 8 to 11 January 2019, AWEX in collaboration with the Agence du Numérique organised two stands for the 9 Walloon companies present, as part of Wallonia's digital strategy, Digital Wallonia.

CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) takes place every year in Las Vegas in January. It is the biggest consumer electronics event in the world.

CES 2018 broke new records with more than 182,000 participants from around the world, spread across the 20 hectares of exhibition space taken up by the show. For these reasons, CES is hands down THE place to be for anyone involved in tech, with more than 4,400 exhibitors (82% of whom are in the Fortune 100), over 370 start-ups gathered together in Eureka Park, and 4,800 CEOs from 153 countries.

It enjoys more media coverage than any other high-tech event in the world. Journalists from around the world flock here to keep their finger on the pulse of future trends and get a glimpse of products that have never been seen before.

So CES is the perfect place to develop your business, among the many exhibitors and at the countless special events put on, but also to get to grips with the big technological trends (Internet of Things, 3D, AR/VR etc.) and seize opportunities for new markets (Smart Home, driverless car, e-health etc.).

CES 2019 once again promises to attract huge numbers, and Wallonia just had to have a significant presence there: 15 Walloon businesses will be present on two Digital Wallonia stands. Nine SMEs will be exhibiting on stand 1129 in Westgate Hall, an area dedicated to international pavilions, and six start-ups will be on stand 51463 in Eureka Park, dedicated to start-ups, the area with the most visitors and the most media coverage at the event.

For Digital Wallonia’s second visit to CES, Minister Pierre-Yves Jeholet, Vice-President of the Walloon Government in charge of Digital Technology, will be travelling to Las Vegas to accompany and support Digital Wallonia’s delegation in the United States.

This ministerial presence clearly demonstrates the desire to promote Wallonia’s different digital skills and establish our region on the digital map of the world.

The stands are organised by the AWEX, official partner and international spearhead of Digital Wallonia’s strategy. An AWEX/Digital Wallonia drinks reception will be organised at the stand in Eureka Park on Thursday 10 January towards the end of the day. 

As well as this, three of the 10 Digital Wallonia International Hubs (San Francisco, Montreal and Shenzhen) will also be in Las Vegas.

For your reference, a network of ten Digital Wallonia International Hubs has been set up by the AWEX. This network works in cities and regions that are leading the way when it comes to digital innovation. After Barcelona and San Francisco in 2017, the Digital Wallonia International network now has a presence in Shenzhen, Montreal, Berlin, Tel-Aviv, Singapore, Paris, Stockholm and London.

As well as the strategic and operational support offered to organise international missions in their respective geographical areas (CES in Las Vegas, Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Vivatech in Paris etc.), the Hubs notably have three main roles:

• to represent Digital Wallonia officially,
• to facilitate business and partnerships for Walloon businesses and start-ups,
• to keep track of technological and economic trends, to be communicated to digital businesses and stakeholders via the Digital Wallonia platform.