Rome – Dakar – Berlin – Brussels Live & Online 21-22 October
Economy–Sustainability–Humanity – Roadmap to Shared Success!
At the beginning of the twenties of the second millennium, Africa is organising to significantly increase intra-African trade, see also the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and wants to unleash more entrepreneurial spirit to generate jobs for Africa’s youth, inclusive growth and social and political stability. A new start is urgently needed as the COVID-19 pandemics is causing severe social, political and economic problems in many African countries, from south to north.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of many economies in Africa and Europe, e.g. of the first two manufacturing nations in Europe, Germany and Italy. Entrepreneurship, professional training and investment are our focus, as keys for a strong African Mittelstand and a good basis for shared value business, which truly will contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.
The conference aims to bring European and African entrepreneurs into play, encourage them to cooperate and co-invest, build alliances, joint ventures and partnerships through appropriate support and monitoring structures and mechanisms to verify the effectiveness and impact of their initiatives.
The 2021 edition of the EU-African SME summit will take place at the same time live in Rome (Italy) and in Dakar (Senegal), and will contemporarily be broadcasted on TV and online. It intends to highlight the chances for entrepreneurs and define together with decision-makers and experts the roads towards successful economic cooperation of dynamic and future-oriented companies in Africa and Europe.
Launch of the Africa IP SME Helpdesk
Furthermore, at the event, EUIPO will launch the Africa IP SME Helpdesk, expected to be operational from October 2021. This an EU-funded project set up to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the European Union (EU) in the process of creating, protecting, utilising, administering and enforcing intellectual property rights (IPR) across Africa, in line with international and European best practice and in support of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Cooperation between the EU and African countries in the Africa IP SME Helpdesk project will provide a unique opportunity for European SMEs to invest in Africa and, in that process, enable African countries to access global business value chains while, at the same time, contributing to sustainable development and economic growth in Africa.
Shared Value
The Summit’s framing concept is the innovative idea of Shared Value: this new notion redefines our approach to sustainable development goals like access to water, electricity, education, training and health.
These can best be achieved through sustainable and smart business ideas, thus creating a “shared value” for the companies putting the business the idea in practice, as well as the communities and individuals, benefiting from the services.
Furthermore, at the event, EUIPO will launch the Africa IP SME Helpdesk, expected to be operational from October 2021. This is an EU-funded project set up to help SMEs from the EU in the process of creating, protecting, utilising, administering and enforcing intellectual property rights (IPR) across Africa.
Cooperation between the EU and African countries in the Africa IP SME Helpdesk project will provide a unique opportunity for European SMEs to invest in Africa and, in that process, enable African countries to access global business value chains while, at the same time, contributing to sustainable development and economic growth in Africa.
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