Marseille (France), 27 June 2019 – On June 19 to 20, 2019, Cairo hosted two major events initiated by ANIMA Investment Network in the framework of THE NEXT SOCIETY to support and spread the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Egypt and in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
Organised by ANIMA, TIEC and ITIDA on 19 June 2019, the Matchmaking Forum for Investment and Innovation promoted Egyptian stakeholders of the innovation ecosystem to an international delegation of business and innovation support organisations, thus strengthening the Euro-Mediterranean community with creative and inspiring exchanges. The day after, THE NEXT SOCIETY partners gathered in TIEC premises to discuss the steps forward of the initiative during its 3 rd Annual Conference.
200 participants representing startups accelerators, business federations, investors and public agencies from Europe and the MENA region gathered in Cairo, Egypt, last week to take part in THE NEXT SOCIETY Matchmaking Forum for Investment and Innovation. This open forum brought together Egyptian entrepreneurs to present their solutions and opportunities to an international audience eager to discover the assets of the Egyptian ecosystem. 70 tailor-made BtoB meetings were scheduled prior to the event through a matchmaking platform and were organised during the day along with networking sessions and roundable discussions aiming at connecting participants interested in developing business in Egypt and the MENA region.
As explained by Rasha Tantawi, Head of Business and Entrepreneurship at TIEC, the value of investments received in the top 5 MENA countries (United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon) increased by 1% in 2018, reaching a total amount of USD 673,519,071 which represents 255 investment deals, 16% less than the number of deals achieved in 2017. Indeed, while the number of investment deals decreased, the size of investments has grown. Venture and Growth Capital, Accelerators and Corportates lead the investment deals developed in the MENA region and particularly in the top 5 countries receiving most investment deals. That data clearly reflects the transformation of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the MENA region from traditional business and investment ecosystem to start-up and innovative business development.
Challenges in mobilising foreign investment for developing innovation ecosystems; innovative mechanisms to scale start-ups; public policies to be implemented to boost access to finance in the MENA countries; and novel strategies for financing innovators in the MENA region were some of the topics that animated the day’s discussions.
THE NEXT SOCIETY 3 rd Annual Meeting
On June 20, 2019 the 3 rd Annual Meeting of the initiative was organised by TIEC on its premises. The event brought together all partner organisations of THE NEXT SOCIETY who presented the key achievements, challenges and successes of the consortia after two years of activities implemented in Egypt and in the MENA region through several presentations and parallel workshops.
The Coordination Team of THE NEXT SOCIETY presented to the partners THE NEXT SOCIETY video which has been released on the occasion of the Egypt round of events to highlight the actions developed by the consortium so far.
This meeting was also the perfect time to celebrate the growth of THE NEXT SOCIETY community. Indeed, after two years of activities, several organisations have joined THE NEXT SOCIETY as ecosystem partners or members of THE NEXT SOCIETY Club (click here to know more about them).
Yomken.com (Egypt), Aix-Marseille University (France), Emerging Valley (France), Marseille Innovation (France), and Flow (Palestine), Factory 619 (Tunisia), Factory 319 (France), Zebox (France), P.Factory (France), Brenco (Algeria), Seedstars, Welcoming Diaspora (France) have recently integrated the ecosystem partners, making the community grow and spreading innovation culture all around the Mediterranean!
In addition, thecamp and GM Consultant have joined forces with Bpifrance, the Region Sud – Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur and GreenFlex, founder members of THE NEXT SOCIETY Club which associate public and private organisations committed to create value in the region to take part in the innovation dynamics and trends between Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa!
Furthermore, a partnership agreement was signed in Beirut , Lebanon, on 14 June 2019 among ANIMA Investment Network, Berytech, Marseille Innovation and the Région Sud under the patronage of Renaud Muselier, President of the Région Sud (France) to further develop collaboration between innovators in both countries.
Click here to download a selection of photos.
Click below to watch THE NEXT SOCIETY video!
Press and communication contact
Inmaculada Ruiz, ANIMA Investment Network – inmaculada.ruiz@anima.coop
About THE NEXT SOCIETY
THE NEXT SOCIETY is an open community of change makers engaged in innovation and economic development. It gathers entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, NGOs, public and private innovation, research and economic development hubs from Europe and the Mediterranean countries.
THE NEXT SOCIETY gathers already a large network of over 300 business & innovation, research and investment organisations, 2,500 international SMEs and entrepreneurs from 30 countries.
THE NEXT SOCIETY is launching a four year action plan (2017-2020), co-funded by the EU up to 90% for a global amount of EUR 7.8 million budget. www.thenextsociety.co
About Anima Investment Network
ANIMA Investment Network is an international economic development network that aims to work to the promotion and development of the Mediterranean. The ANIMA network brings together 80 members from 18 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean area, including national and regional investment promotion and economic development agencies, business federations, innovation centres, international investors and research institutes. ANIMA’s objective is to contribute to the continued improvement of the business and investment climate, as well as encourage shared and sustainable economic development in the Mediterranean.
The network provides expertise in economic development, organises training and sharing of experience, does valuable work on economic promotion, acts as a cooperation agency for its members and partners and supports companies in their development and impact on the region’s markets. www.anima.coop
About ITIDA
Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) was founded in 2004 in a public-private partnership between the government and the private sector. ITIDA is the executive IT arm of the MCIT and plays a fundamental role as a one-stop-shop for foreign direct investors seeking to enhance their global offering, where it also extends a helping hand to business and provides the Egyptian IT industry with the right tools to increase IT/ ITES exports.
ITIDA is aware of the importance of innovation and talent that is why ITIDA leaves no stone unturned to ensure sustainable talent supply and great innovations.
Through its affiliate body; The Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC), the agency aims to drive innovation and entrepreneurship in ICT for the benefit of national economy. The center has been launched in 2010 to with a mission to stimulate an innovation-based economy through strategizing, facilitating, and promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and the creation of intellectual property in ICT and its applications.