The EiA Congress 2022: From Roadmaps to Achievements

On the 25th of December 2022, the ENRICH in Africa project successfully held the 2nd edition of EiA Annual congress in Nairobi, Kenya and online, under the motto “From Roadmaps to Achievements”. This second EiA congress brought the community to Kenya - for the first time - and gathered senior-level decision-makers, incubation and acceleration experts, business executives, entrepreneurs and experts from Africa and Europe to discuss the two continents’ mutual future for innovation cooperation.  

The event kicked off with a keynote address by Dr. Vincenzo Lorusso from the European Commission, where he provided insight into the AU-EU Innovation Agenda launched a day before the congress and the future direction for Africa- Europe collaboration. This year’s congress was unique, where we successfully launched the ENRICH in Africa Centre (EiA Centre), a network connecting European and African innovation ecosystems as an outcome of the ENRICH in Africa project that will usher in strengthening internationalisation and collaboration in innovation and followed the high-level  AU-EU Innovation Agenda Stakeholder Event on 23 - 24 November 2022, that conveniently took place in the same location. 

This year’s congress brought together more than 160 senior-level decision-makers, business incubators and accelerators experts, business executives, start-ups, SMEs and corporate investors from Africa and Europe. The event showcased tested methodologies, and best practices, and facilitated exchanges that leverage the exceptional transformative power of innovation. Moreover, the participants had the chance to network, exchange ideas, co-learn, co-develop future collaborations, and leverage unique mutual understanding. 

With four panel discussions and Q&A sessions, the annual congress explored the tangible actions and outcomes of current collaborative policy roadmaps for the business and innovation markets of Africa and Europe. Moreover, shared important trends, lessons learnt and developments in the African and European innovation ecosystems from the perspectives of different stakeholders.  

We are thankful to everyone who has joined us in-person and online, and in particular to all the speakers who showed up to showcase their hands-on experience. 

You can watch the recording here.

Read more about the EiA Center here.