France President, Emmanuel Macron has disclosed the creation of Digital Africa, a programme for African start-ups which aims to maintain the entrepreneurial momentum in Africa, to support the emergence of entrepreneurs with social impact and to encourage digital innovation.
Digital Africa aims to radiate the Aix-Marseille region in Africa and in emerging countries as a new business and start-ups hub between Europe and Africa and to attract new businesses with high-growth potential.
The Hub will be launch during EMERGING Valley conference, which will take place on the 19th, 20th and 21st November, 2018 at Palais du Pharo, Marseille and at thecamp (Aix-en-Provence)
“The region and especially Aix-Marseille have all kinds of legitimacy – historical, geographical, cultural, human – to become the preferred African gateway to Europe, and vice versa. It’s also the only French region claiming this position with Africa on the digital challenges, and it wants to assert itself as a magnet for the companies in the world willing to enter the African market from Marseille. Now, there is a real opportunity to emerge as a double gateway Europe-Africa, and Marseille can naturally claim it. EMERGING Valley is part of the ambition” states Samir Abdelkrim, Founder of EMERGING Valley and StartupBRICS during the press conference.
More than 60 start-ups and African project holders will come as well to EMERGING Valley to be speeded up during the workshop Social Business & Inclusive Camp.
During this first edition, incubators and innovation areas from the Aix-Marseille region presented their support services to African companies willing to develop their activities on the European continent, like thecamp, Marseille Innovation, PFactory, la Coque or even Le Carburateur.
At the Mediterranean crossroad to Africa, the Aix-Marseille region is intended to increase exchange between the African start-ups and the local innovation networks like the AfricaLink network supported by the CCIMP, ANIMA, Investement Network, PFactory or even the network French Tech Aix-Marseille, which are all partners of the event EMERGING Valley 2018.