Description
The European Commission (EC) organised the EU – South MED Matchmaking Event as part of Euromed Clusters Forward’s Tech Days during the GITEX AFRICA which was held on 31 May – 2 June 2023.
The EU – South MED Matchmaking Event itself took place on-site in Marrakech, Morocco on 31 May – 2 June 2023. The event was jointly organised by the European Commission through the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP), in collaboration with StartUp Maroc for Euromed Clusters Forward and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN).
The EU – South MED Matchmaking Event brought together cluster organisations and SMEs from the European Union (EU), non-EU COSME countries, and South MED countries: Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Tunisia. It provided participants with an excellent chance to promote Cluster to Cluster (C2C), Cluster to Business (C2B), and Business to Business (B2B) collaborations.
📕Download the Final agenda and the Participants' booklet.
📸Take a look at all the photos from the event.
📰 Read the event article for highlights, key takeaways and insights from the event.
Videos
EU-South Med Matchmaking Event Morocco 2023: Highlights
EU-South Med Matchmaking Event Morocco 2023: Testimonials and next steps
Objectives
The objectives for the participants included:
- Strengthening EU-South MED cluster cooperation for the benefit of their members, including a seminar, a cluster matchmaking event, and site visits.
- Identifying potential areas of common interest for cooperation and synergies, in terms of the sectoral, value chain, and market focus of their SMEs and other companies.
- Improving, through clusters, the EU-South MED industry and academia-industry collaboration in research, development, and innovation. For its members, the clusters will identify possible areas of RDI collaboration (academia, research organisations, industries...).
Call for Expression of Interest
Calls for Expression of Interest targeting cluster organisations and SMEs from the EU and non-EU COSME countries who wish to participate are now closed.
Event Activities
- Preparatory/Technical Webinar "Market access information for the EU - South MED Matchmaking Event" was held on 15 May 2023 at 10:30 AM (CET) – it was an opportunity to receive practical information on how to participate successfully in the planned event and to acquaint future participants with the theme and business environment;
- Site visits on 31 May and more on 1 June;
- Seminar on 1 June on knowledge exchange to foster EU-South MED cooperation.
- Matchmaking meetings on 1 June between cluster organisations and SMEs from EU (and non-EU COSME) countries and South MED Countries.
- Debriefing session to collect feedback and testimonials from cluster participants.
- Participation at the global leading digital summit GITEX AFRICA – 31 May - 02 June 2023 – free of charge
- Optional participation at the Aromaplant Expo on 2 June.
Format
The EU – South MED Matchmaking Event itself took place on-site in Marrakech, Morocco on 31 May – 2 June 2023. Participants were able to schedule their own meetings through the B2Match Platform. Selected European cluster organisations received financial support for travel from the European Commission.
Focus areas
- Agri-food & Cosmetics
- Textile
- ICT
- CleanTech & Renewable energy
Preparatory/Technical Webinar
A preparatory/technical Webinar on “Market access information for the EU-Taiwan matchmaking event” was held on 15 May 2023. The agenda for the Webinar is available here.
Watch the full recording:
Below are all presentations used in the frame of the Webinar:
Looking back at past missions to the South MED region
The EU-South Med Cluster Matchmaking Event held in 2019 aimed to foster collaboration between European and South Mediterranean clusters in innovation and technology. The event provided an opportunity to network and explore potential partnerships in areas such as renewable energy, ICT, and healthcare. During three days, cluster participants attended various activities, including a cluster matchmaking event (150 meetings took place), workshops on business development, industry 4.0 and clusters in Maghreb. They visited LOGISMED 2019, a transport and logistics exhibition, MASCiR, ESITH, and CTI. Read more about 2019.
In 2021, the event continued its focus on collaboration and innovation, particularly emphasizing digital transformation and the green economy. It brought together key players from Europe and the South Mediterranean to share knowledge, ideas, and best practices and explore opportunities for cooperation. They discussed common visions and initiated discussions and co-creative processes by proposing pilot project ideas. Have a look at the 2021 agenda.
Proceedings report
The proceedings report is available here.