Are you an African company carrying out activities in areas of the blue economy? Then join in for BlueInvest Africa 2022! BlueInvest Africa is a two-day international B2B hybrid event on 15th and 16th of March 2022 for companies operating in the African blue economy to exchange with African and European investors. The event is organised by the European Union in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Seychelles and is hosted on site in Seychelles as well as online.
Matchmaking between investors and entrepreneurs, in the form of pitching sessions, will be at the core of the event. The programme will consist of:
- pitching sessions,
- site visits to Seychellois blue economy projects,
- B2B meetings,
- exhibition showcasing small-scale African projects and
- networking moments between participants which will enable them to meet a maximum of potential future partners.
Requirements
From all applying companies, 30 will be chosen for pitching via selection process. These will get the chance to participate on-site in the event (travel, accommodation and catering covered) and deliver a pitch presenting their project to investors present.
- The company must be based, legally registered and active in an African country
- The company/business must be a small and medium size enterprise (SME) as defined in the EU recommendation 2003/361.
- The pitcher will have to be present on the spot in Seychelles and deliver a pitch about the company/business/project he/she will be representing.
- The project of the pitching company must focus on a blue economy sector either in a maritime or coastal area of Africa or in African inland waters.
- The activities of the pitching company and the project proposed for pitching must ensure that it is compliant with one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations
The pitch is a lively intervention of 4 to maximum 5 minutes comprising a short, concise presentation of the project of a company.
The goals of the pitch are:
- to attract the attention and stimulate the interest of investors present at the event;
- to convince the investors about the profitability, the growth opportunities presented by the product/service and the potential for further development of the project with the final aim to receive funds to further develop the project.
For start-up companies and SMMEs, BlueInvest Africa will provide:
› A unique opportunity to meet other African project holders and SMMEs engaged in blue actions;
› A platform for receiving direct advices from several captains of industry operating in Africa;
› Several side-events on access to financing; award for pitchers; direct contacts with development banks and other financial institutions;
› Coaching and mentoring sessions, networking at large.
Development Focus:
The blue economy is encompasses all maritime activities and sectors, both traditional (e.g. fisheries) and emerging (e.g. blue biotechnology), whether they are based in the marine environment (e.g. shipping, energy generation) or on land (e.g. coastal tourism, ports, land-based aquaculture).If compared to a national economy, global blue economic would be the seventh largest in the world, providing millions of direct jobs and generating significant revenues. Both Africa and Europe have identified blue economy as a key sector to develop their socio-economic aspirations.
Benefits
Build local contacts, networks and partnerships
Take advantage of local contacts and networks provided by GIZ to sustainably implement your business solution.
On-site participants:
- Sponsored (travel and accommodation covered)
› Pitchers: 30 pitching companies chosen via a selection process. Pitching applications from all the African countries will be considered as
receivable.
› Small-scale businesses representatives.
› Ted-talkers: 3 Ted-talks foreseen.
› Moderator. - Non-sponsored
› Investors and other private sector’s operators.
› Press and media.
› Representatives from public authorities.
› Other attendees.
Online participants:
All sessions will be live streamed and interactivity tools and live interpretation will allow online attendees to access the content of the event. The match-making app will enable on-site and online participants to interact and network.
150 on-site participants as well as remote attendees from Africa and Europe, including investors and entrepreneurs, will generate business contacts and opportunities, discover business projects from the field, exchange best practices and ideas, develop a network of potential partners.
With this first-ever BlueInvest edition out of Europe, the objective is to showcase the African potential, foster entrepreneurship and participation of the private and public sectors in the fast-developing sector of blue economy in Africa and promote innovative sustainable solutions. International media and press will be invited to cover the event.
The targeted audience will be:
› Private sector, African start-up companies active in the blue economy, including small-scale businesses;
› International financial institutions, public and private institutional investors;
› International, national and regional organisations (private business platforms in countries);
› Research institutions, incubators and innovators.
The programme of this two-day international B2B hybrid event will consist of pitching sessions, site visits to Seychellois blue economy projects, B2B meetings, exhibition showcasing small-scale African projects and networking moments between participants which will enable them to meet a maximum of potential future partners
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