EMERGING VALLEY IS A SUMMIT WHICH BRINGS TOGETHER AFRICAN & EUROPEAN INNOVATION

USPA NEWS - On 7 and 8 December 2020, the fourth year of EMERGING Valley will unite innovative African, Mediterranean and European entrepreneurs at the prestigious Palais du Pharo in Marseille. EMERGING Valley is the focal point for African Tech Leaders in Provence and will be the first event to kick off the Africa2020 Season on innovation, tech and entrepreneurship. Every year, EMERGING Valley unites countless startups, investors, technological hubs and key innovative ecosystem stakeholders to showcase African entrepreneurial dynamism, forge partnerships and build digital bridges over the Mediterranean to link Africa and Europe. This annual African tech summit is a unique opportunity to meet the innovation and entrepreneurship leaders working throughout Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa. This international conference really has become an UNMISSABLE opportunity to generate new business relationships.

The event boosts up-and-coming companies whose work has a genuinely positive impact by giving them privileged positions in the conference schedule and organises awards ceremonies and start-up pitches with grants and support about expanding businesses. EMERGING Valley helps ecosystems and innovators from Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe meet one another in order to co-create sustainable and resilient solutions for the emergencies and challenges of our time and bring the leaders of tomorrow to the forefront. The hot topics of discussion at EMERGING Valley´s 4th year on the centre stage will be how digital technology, territorial resilience, biodiversity and startup financing can help fight epidemics such as COVID-19. EMERGING Valley, A SUMMIT OF "TECH4GOOD"AND STRATEGIC POSITIONING INNOVATION---------------------  Every year since 2017, the EMERGING Valley summit has established itself as the main networking event for African, Mediterranean and European economic stakeholders. This unique, fruitful and highly inclusive meeting has become an international gathering for a whole range of stakeholders: innovative companies, business communities, civil society, political figures who invest in innovation, emerging territories, etc. This event is free and all-inclusive; EMERGING Valley 2019 was attended by nearly 1350 people from 45 countries including 130 speakers and 140 startups. As the founder of EMERGING Valley and author of “˜Startup Lions, au cÅ“ur de l'African Tech´, Samir Abdelkrim was able to capitalise on the strategic setting of the Aix-Marseille-Provence region ““ right in the middle of the Mediterranean basin ““ as the epicentre of emerging innovations and start-ups from Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe. This year, the event will take place at the prestigious, unique and historic venue of the biggest congresses and events in the South of France ““ the Palais du Pharo.---------------------  This year, the main focus on Emerging Valley´s agenda is 4 strategic topics: territorial resilience (linked to the current global crisis), innovations in e-Health between Europe and Africa, how digital technology, biodiversity and Agritech can be used to prevent further epidemics and CCIs (cultural and creative industries). These CCIs are highlighted by the fact that EMERGING Valley 2020 will be the first event to kick off the Africa2020 Season on innovation, tech and entrepreneurship.  “The innovations of the entrepreneurial ecosystems which are shaping the economic future of African and Mediterranean societies are facing immense challenges in the aftermath of COVID-19. Tech entrepreneurs from countries such as Morocco, Kenya, Tunisia and Senegal are on the frontline in helping their nations weather the storm and we must keep on helping them. EMERGING Valley will continue supporting start-ups by fostering meetings between ecosystems and innovators from Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder during hard times will create collective, sustainable and resilient solutions to the emergencies and challenges we are currently facing. Now more than ever, the best way to pick up the pieces is to create a community between our two continents which is underpinned by digital technology,“ explains Samir ABDELKRIM, founder of EMERGING Valley.

EMERGING Valley ““ connecting an entire ecosystem working towards innovation and territorial development in Europe, the Mediterranean and AfricaOver the past four years, EMERGING Valley has invited regional stakeholders such as the Aix-Marseille Provence Metropolis, the Department of the Bouches-du-Rhône, the EPA Euroméditerranée, the CCI Aix-Marseille Provence and the City of Marseille which have all been partners from the start. Other national and international organisations have also acknowledged how crucial this summit is since it was founded, including the French Development Agency, the World Bank, the European Commission, the Research Institute for Development, the OCP group, the Société Générale bank, Deloitte Afrique, Smart Tunisia, the Casablanca Technopark, GIZ, Diafrik Invest, the Next Einstein Forum, AIMS Rwanda, Africa-Europe Innovation Partnership, many African ministries, the Forum des Chefs d´Entreprise and AfricaLink.  In 2020, Emerging Valley has furthered its role in supporting and boosting African start-ups by coproducing the Social & Inclusive Business Camp (SIBC). This acceleration program is the brainchild of the French Development Agency and has supported nearly 150 entrepreneurs with a strong impact on society in Africa since it began in 2017. EMERGING Valley and the SIBC share many common goals: the aim is to help innovators who have a positive impact on society in Africa grow, and both organisations draw inspiration from the vitality of these innovators by bringing out new models of resilience for dynamic and inclusive entrepreneurship. Since 2018, Emerging Valley has invited many high-level speakers to give presentations at the conference, all of whom are featured on the website: 2018 and 2019. Many delegations of startups from all over Africa have already been announced for 2020, including South Africa, Tunisia and Algeria. The 2020 program is well and truly under way.The connection between public and private stakeholders is one of the real strengths of this international summit. Quite apart from promoting emerging innovations between Europe and Africa, it showcases the advances, the incredible business potential and the talented entrepreneurs of the African continent on the world stage. About EMERGING Valley:  EMERGING Valley (EV) is the international summit which attracts investors, startups and African and emerging digital ecosystems to Provence ““ the hub of emerging innovations between Europe and Africa. These stakeholders want to bolster their international image, develop business opportunities and accelerate their impact around the world. EV was created in Aix-Marseille in 2017 by Samir ABDELKRIM (author of “˜Startup Lions, au cÅ“ur de l'African Tech´), and placed under the patronage of the President of the Republic Emmanuel MACRON in 2018. EV is a free and all-inclusive summit which had 1350 participants from 45 countries and over 130 speakers and 140 startups in 2019. This year, the summit is all about 4 central topics: 1) Territorial resilience 2) e-Health after COVID-19 3) Biodiversity & Agritech and 4) Cultural and Creative Industries.   Source: Emerging Valley, Euromediatteran.