For the past four months, the AfriConEU Project has been growing, moving towards its implementation phase. To this end, it has been participating in several digital events, significantly expanding its network, establishing a robust digital presence, and conducting roundtables and surveys for research purposes.
First, AfriConEU has also been excessively active in promoting several opportunities, such as the Agrifood Cooperation Platform. This online platform provided by the DIH AGRIFOOD serves the “AfriConEU Networking Academy” in connecting organizations in the agri-food sector from both continents. The platform works as a Digital Innovation Hub – DIH AGRIFOOD is a “One-Stop-Shop,” providing digital transformation services to organizations through a Multi-Actor Approach to provide safe, sustainable, and quality food while considering economic, environmental, and social aspects and implications of food production and delivery. There are more than 800 organizations already identified and registered on the platform.
In addition, the project has initiated its contribution to scientific research through a variety of surveys that will help form the AfriConEU Networking Academy, which will offer two Flagship Programmes, one of which will be dedicated to Capacity Building for African DIHs. The first survey is the Survey for Digital Innovation Hubs Supporters, and is aimed at DIH helpers or supporters who offer capacity-building programmes on the essential topics for the successful functioning of DIHs and would like to provide more precise insight into identifying how DIHs are trained through these programmes. The second survey is the Survey for Digital Innovation Hubs, and is aimed at DIHs, which already participate in capacity-building programmes on some of the essential topics for the successful functioning of DIHs, aspiring to gain information about how DIHs are trained through these programmes. The third survey is the Survey for Leaders and Managers of Digital Innovation Hubs, which is a study to understand the context and needs of African Digital Innovation Hubs. Findings from this study will help AfriConEU design appropriate capacity-building activities for the AfriConEU Networking Academy. The data collected by the surveys is now being processed and will soon produce tangible results.
AfriConEU has been involved in significant external events, which propel African-European relations through innovation and entrepreneurship. Firstly, the project participated in the Emerging Valley Online Edition on the 7th and 8th of April 2021. The project’s partners interacted with the event’s speakers, Startups, Tech Hubs, and Investors from various countries, creating networks for potential collaborations. The event offered a unique opportunity for the participants to “discover new innovative territories emerging in the south, explore and invest in the digital solutions of tomorrow by connecting with African tech champions, and collaborate to build scaling strategies between
Africa, the Mediterranean, and Europe.” Secondly, AfriConEU virtually participated in the Final Conference of Africa Europe Innovation Partnership (AEIP) on 29th and 30th of June 2021. The event marked the official end of the AEIP pilot. It focused on celebrating and disseminating information on the key achievements, lessons learned across all activities and discussing ways to continue collaborating more sustainably.
Furthermore, AfriConEU has organized four roundtable discussions, aiming to facilitate the exchange of views and practices among the stakeholders regarding DIHs and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic upon the economy. The first of the roundtables occurred on April 28th, 2021, and was entitled “Building Resilient African Digital Economies post-COVID – Focus on Ghana,” the second one took place on May 19th, 2021, and was entitled Building Resilient African Digital Economies post-COVID – Focus on Nigeria,” the third one occurred on June 10th and was entitled “Building Resilient African Digital Economies post-COVID – Focus on Uganda,”and the fourth one took place on June 23rd and was entitled: “Building Resilient African Digital Economies post-COVID – Focus on Tanzania.”
Moreover, AfriConEU organized a meeting with ICT 58 projects DIGILOGIC and HUBiquitous on June 9th, 2021. The meeting’s objective was for all participants to be introduced to each project, discover common ground and differences, and further elaborate on possible future collaborations. Moving forward, it has been decided that ICT-58 projects will further consolidate their partnership, repeating such meetings, with the next one coming up in Autumn 2021
During the last months, AfriConEU’s presence in the media has been considerable. Several websites have published some of the project’s deliverables, including TecHub Boundless Business.. You can find more here.
You can follow the future developments of AfriConEU on its Website or simply by subscribing to the Newsletter. Very interesting content and events will follow. Suppose you are a Digital Innovation Hub, an Entrepreneur, an Investor, an Institution in the field of digital skills, or any other Stakeholder interested in taking part at some stage of the project. In that case, you can contact our team at africoneu@inova.business.
