Innovation Fair 2025: Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean together “to enable that step forward”

The Innovation Fair 2025, took place on 23 October in Brussels, Belgium and online, bringing together, for the first time, the European Union (EU)'s cooperation on Research and Innovation (R&I) with Africa and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and celebrating the vibrancy and the partnerships of innovation ecosystems in Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean regions. With the running title of "Enabling that step forward", the Innovation Fair aimed to be a "non-regular event", showcasing promising transformative solutions from across these regions and supporting their scale up, by facilitating collaborations and matchmaking.

Innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, policymakers and representatives from civil society organisations gathered to explore how shared challenges can be transformed into opportunities for sustainable growth. Organised by the European Commission, in partnership with the African Union (AU) and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the Fair stands as a flagship initiative advancing the implementation of the AU-EU Innovation Agenda (2023-2033) and the New Pact for the Mediterranean, alongside the UfM Research and Innovation Roadmaps.

The Innovation Fair 2025 in Brussels marked the latest chapter in a growing story of intercontinental cooperation, following the successful past editions of Nairobi (November 2022, as part of the "AU-EU Innovation Agenda Stakeholder Event "), Cape Town (June 2023, as part of the "AU-EU Innovation Festival") and Cairo (October 2024, "Euro-Med Innovation Marketplace").

Each of these gatherings has deepened collaboration between Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean, forging new partnerships and showcasing how joint innovation can address global challenges such as climate change, public health, digital transformation and inclusive entrepreneurship.

Hosted at the Maison de la Poste at Tour & Taxis, while also being streamed online, this year's edition drew 500 participants on-site and more than 200 online.

The Innovation Fair featured 43 pitches by innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers and Business Support Organisations from 15 countries, engaged across all priority areas of the two regional R&I cooperations, namely (i) Public Health, (ii) Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture, (iii) Climate Change and Sustainable / Renewable Energy, (iv) Innovation and Technology and (v) Capacities for Science. Moreover, the Fair included 40 "permanent stands" on numerous R&I cooperation programmes, partnerships (e.g. Global Health EDCTP3, Innovative Health Initiative, PRIMA, EUREKA Network and many more) and initiatives by several European Commission Directorate-Generals and EU agencies (i.e. DG R&I and Horizon Europe, Joint Research Centre, DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture; DG International Partnership and European Innovation Council) and AU, EU and UfM Member States (i.e. Team Belgium ,Team Egypt, Team Morocco, Team South Africa and "Kenya Corner").

The event was opened by the high-level remarks by the European Commission's Deputy Director-General for R&I Ms Signe Ratso, followed by AUDA-NEPAD's Head of Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Brando Okolo; the Deputy Secretary-General of the UfM H.E. Amb. Joan Borrell; the President of the European Innovation Council, Dr Michiel Scheffer; the President of the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO), Mr Arnaud Vajda and the Head of Unit for Clustering of the Regional Agency for Business Support of the City of Brussels "hub.brussels", Mr Anthony Naralingom.

Pitches were preceded by two policy presentations on the 10 year-AU-EU Innovation Agenda, by Dr Vincenzo Lorusso (European Commission) and Mr Lukovi Seke (AUDA-NEPAD) and on the UfM Scalability Action Plan, by Alessandro Calabro' (European Commission) and Heba Gaber (EU Delegation to Egypt).

From ideas to partnerships

The morning sessions spotlighted the diversity and dynamism of Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean collaboration through three pitching rounds:

• "Part I": an Open Innovation Challenge for start-ups, SMEs and spin-offs (18 in total) that presented breakthrough solutions in Public Health, Green Transition, Innovation and Technology as well as Capacities for Science. All participating entities were awarded an incubation prize, with winners for each priority areas being granted an additional pitching opportunity in the near vis-à-vis selected investors.
• Business Support Organisations (BSOs): Incubators, accelerators and innovation hubs (9 in total) that pitched on the specific support they provide to entrepreneurs and innovation ecosystems, according to different thematic areas.
• Transformative solutions from collaborative R&I projects (16 in total): initiatives supported by Horizon Europe, PRIMA and EDCTP2 demonstrated practical solutions ready for market and societal uptake, spanning medicines against neglected tropical diseases and infectious diseases, renewable energy systems, sustainable agri-food technologies and digital cooperation platforms.

In the afternoon, the venue transformed into a vibrant exhibition and matchmaking fair (situated in the "Fair Space"), with more than 50 booths featuring prototypes, live demonstrations and interactive displays. In addition to the 43 innovative solutions pitches in the morning, the Fair Space was completed by ten additional booths by start-ups and BSOs successfully engaged in previous stakeholder events pertaining to the AU-EU Innovation Agenda. Participants used the event's "matchmaking app" to schedule one-on-one meetings, fostering connections for funding and collaboration opportunities.

Enabling that step forward

Thanks to the Innovation Fair, 18 entrepreneurs from Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean region will be supported to scale up their innovations through a dedicated support schemes provided under the Horizon Europe Project "Africa-Europe Innovation Platform (AEIP)", and will gain visibility to hundreds of investors through the "Euroquity - Bpifrance virtual platform< /a>" for start-ups and SMEs. Furthermore, six innovators were also awarded the opportunity to pitch in November to a cohort of investors selected by the Horizon Europe Project "Strengthening the Europe-Africa Digital Ecosystem Through Increased R&I Cooperation (SEADE R&I)". Winning start-ups were awarded by Ms Signe Ratso (European Commission), Prof Brando Okolo (AUDA-NEPAD), H.E. Amb. Joan Borrel (UfM), Kenya's Ambassador to the EU, H.E. Prof Bitange Ndemo and PRIMA's Co-Chair, Dr Hamid El-Zoheiry.

On the whole, it was a highly participatory event, with more than 500 stakeholders on-site and more than 200 online (many of whom below the age of 40) and from more than 40 countries, testifying the momentous time of the EU's cooperation on Science, Technology and Innovation, with both Africa and the Mediterranean, in an important week marked by both the AU-EU and the UfM Senior Officials Meeting, and just one month ahead of the next AU-EU Summit.

From Nairobi to Cape Town, Cairo and now Brussels, the Fair's growing legacy demonstrates a shared commitment to transforming ideas into positive socio-economic impact - and to taking innovations "one step further" towards a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient future.

More information

EU-Africa cooperation in research and innovation

International cooperation with the Mediterranean region