A joint innovation agenda for Africa and the EU - Steinbeis Europa Zentrum gets involved in Nairobi, Kenya

On 23rd and 24th November, the European Commission and African Union organised the African Union – European Union Innovation Agenda Stakeholder Event in Nairobi, Kenya to present and discuss the findings of the online public consultation on the AU-EU Innovation Agenda. The event brought together more than 500 stakeholders from various African and European organisations, including the team of Steinbeis Europa Zentrum which coordinates the H2020 project ENRICH in Africa (EiA).

During day 1 of the event, a number of workshops were held to get feedback from stakeholders in the priority sectors of the Agenda: public health, food security, climate change and sustainable energy, skills development and mobility. EiA consortium members participated in a number of these workshops, providing inputs both with regard to the gaps and further additions to be added to the final version of the document.

During day 2, selected European and African innovators were given the opportunity to pitch to the attendees. The majority of these had been chosen by ENRICH in Africa partners and had previously been supported by EiA through the various services the project and its network offers.

All in all, the event was meant to facilitate the co-creation of the implementation plan for the AU-EU Innovation Agenda, which aims to bring together existing and new EU, AU, national and stakeholder initiatives. The final version of the AU-EU Innovation Agenda is expected to be adopted at the EU-AU R&I Ministerial in June 2023. Read more here.

ENRICH in Africa Annual Congress 2022

Following on from this high-level event, the EiA Annual Congress 2022 took place in the same location on Friday, 25th November. Under the motto 'From Roadmaps to Achievements', the Congress focused on tangible actions and outcomes of current collaborative policy roadmaps for the business and innovation markets of Africa and Europe. 162 stakeholders attended in person and many other joined remotely.

The EiA Congress was an opportunity for both networking and knowledge exchange. Various panels presented the current scene in the two continents regarding entrepreneurial development, support to innovation and access to funding.  One of the highlights was the launch of the ENRICH in Africa Centre, the sustainable business that will continue to offer EiA services after the project ends.

The recording of the event can be watched here.