ENRICH In Africa Center Opens ‘New Connections’ Between Europe, Africa

Cape Town – EU and AU representatives have launched the inaugural ENRICH in Africa Center in Cape Town to build and strengthen bridges between European and African innovation ecosystems. 

Building communication, networking, and innovation bridges between nations and continents is critical, to keeping the gateways open for business so economies continue to thrive and effectively tackle present and future challenges. 

While there are no physical bridges or submarine tunnels that connect Africa to Europe, there certainly are bridges of mutual understanding, respect, coordination, and collaboration. 

These bridges don’t emerge overnight, as it takes time to create, build, nurture and strengthen them. 

This is exactly what the newly inaugurated ENRICH in Africa Center aims to do, building network nodes in the African and European innovation ecosystems.

The new  EiA Center    is one of the ways that bring European and African changemakers and entrepreneurs together across different thematic areas: from green transition to health, from innovation and technology to education and training.

The EiA Center has been developed within the framework of the “ENRICH in Africa (EiA)” project funded by the EU’s “Framework Programme” Horizon 2020, predecessor to the current “Horizon Europe” Framework Programme, the largest funding initiative for Research and Innovation in the world.

ENRICH in Africa Center Inauguration

The EiA Center was officially inaugurated on 15 June 2023 at an event attended by European Union and African Union dignitaries, innovation ecosystem builders, startups, corporations and policymakers. 

Hosted by ENRICH in Africa Center directors Eduardo Herrmann (Head of Department: Smart Manufacturing and Sustainability at Steinbeis Europa Zentrum, Germany), Christophe Viarnaud (CEO of Methys Group, South Africa), and Philip Kiracofe (CEO of Startupbootcamp AfriTech, South Africa); the inauguration ceremony took place at the French South African Tech Labs (FSAT Labs) in Century City. 

The event was officiated by (European Commission’s Director for Global Approach and International Cooperation in Research & Innovation), Maria Cristina Russo; South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation’s Deputy Director-General for International Cooperation and Resources, Daan Du Toit; the EU Ambassador to South Africa Sandra Kramer, and the Principal Scientific Officer at the African Union Commission’s Department of Education, Science, and Technology, Dr. Monica Ebele Idinoba. 

Together, they unveiled the new ENRICH in Africa Center plaque and simultaneously cut a symbolic red ribbon in front of it, and officially declared the Center open.

European Union and African Union dignitaries officially open the ENRICH in Africa Center in a symbolic ribbon-cutting ceremony.  

Building Bridges for African and European Collaboration

The Center’s founding partners include key innovation players from both Africa and Europe, coordinated by the German company Steinbeis 2i, coordinator of the EiA project. 

Our key mission is to strengthen the EU-Africa tech and innovation ecosystems, supporting innovators’ collaboration, and connecting incubators and accelerators, investors, corporates, and policymakers, to enable positive social impact and green business. 

During the event, Christophe Viarnaud, welcomed the audience and said: “Together with 12 partners and the support of the EU Commission, we have worked relentlessly over the past two and a half years to scale the ENRICH in Africa project into a Center to increase collaboration and partnerships between key stakeholders in the European and African tech and innovation ecosystems.”

The 12 partners who are part of the EiA Center are Steinbeis Europa Zentrum (Germany); Methys; Startupbootcamp AfriTech (South Africa); Bpifrance (France); Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (SPI, Portugal); Bond’innov (France); iHub (Kenya); Impact Hub (Austria); Co-Creation Hub (Nigeria); Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy Research Organization (Tanzania); European Business and Innovation Centre Network (Belgium) and Agorize (France). 

Viarnaud also introduced Zandile Ntuli, the newly appointed EiA Center manager, who has a Bachelor’s in Engineering and is currently a Master’s in Business Administration candidate. 

A South African citizen with a passion for innovation and technology, Ntuli has extensive experience in the petroleum industry where she worked for different companies such as BP and Astron Energy before entering the venture capital landscape. 

Previously the Entrepreneur in Residence at Savant Venture Fund and Technology Incubator, Ntuli said her mission is to grow the EiA Center network to foster growth between African and European innovators. 

In the opening address, European Commission Director for Global Approach and International Cooperation in Research & Innovation, Maria Cristina Russo highlighted “how important it is for European and African innovators to collaborate to find new, common solutions to solve difficult challenges that the world is facing, which have no borders. 

The new-born EiA Center provides for an unprecedented, tangible opportunity to do so and majorly contribute to the upcoming implementation of the brand-new AU-EU Innovation Agenda”.

Deputy Director-General for International Cooperation and Resources at the South African Department of Science and Innovation, Daan Du Toit said: “Partnerships cannot be taken for granted as the right partnerships play a critical role in paving the way for people in different regions to come together and create solutions to different challenges.”

The EU Ambassador to South Africa Kramer spoke about the “importance of forging powerful connections between Europe and Africa that advances each region’s ability to build bridges in mutually beneficial ways.”

Principal Scientific Officer at the African Union Commission’s Department of Education, Science and Technology Dr. Idinoba shared her insights on how European and African innovation stakeholders can together advance each region’s fast-growing tech ecosystems.

Philip Kiracofe spoke about the incredible opportunity that tech poses to Africa’s growth. 

“We have an incredible opportunity to change the world as Africa is experiencing a huge jump in population growth and is positioned to become the youngest continent with the world’s largest workforce by 2030,” said Kiracofe. 

“That makes us the perfect place for new growth and innovations.”

Eduardo Herrmann focussed on the importance of building and maintaining both diplomatic and multi-stakeholder community relations between Africa and Europe. 

“The ENRICH in Africa Center is a hub providing services to entrepreneurs and innovators,” Herrmann said. 

“These services include access to the EiA community, access to investors, networking opportunities, innovation financing, and advisory support services.”

Creating Networks for Women in Tech Innovators  

The institutional inauguration of the Center was followed by a “Meet and Greet” session, featuring presentations of ten women-led and woman-owned Research & Innovation initiatives from South Africa.

Women entrepreneurs and researchers engaging in the session were: Michelle Rachman (IQPay), Bronwyn Laird (Arable Grow), Serisha Barrat (Go Agro & Lawyered Up), Kelley Rowe (Brownie Points), Tebogo Mokwena (Akiba Digital), Nicky Swartz (Spoon Money), Chantelle ten Napel Wilson (Virtual Drive SA), Kirsten Laaks (Everflo), Dr. Thilona Arumurgam (L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Laureate), and Boitumelo Mabakachaba (L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Laureate).

This “Meet and greet” session showcased the vibrancy of the South African innovation ecosystem and the EiA Center’s ability to connect African and European tech innovators and to key role players through its innovative, strategic collaborative network approach that builds bridges between Africa and Europe and creates real value.