Programme for the development and assistance of innovation financing
in the Mediterranean

Lead Organisation: EIB

Partners:

World Bank

MEDIBTIKAR/ANIMA

GTZ (tbc)

CDC

Audience / Beneficiaries:

Public decision makers; managers of innovation (innovation poles, incubators, etc.); innovativeSMEs.

Geographic Coverage:

Maghreb, Mashrek

Agenda / Period:

May 2009 to December 2011

Background:

The development of innovation in the southern and eastern rim of the Mediterranean is currently characterised by proactive improvements and increases in the support from services for entrepreneurs (making innovative projects ‘bankable’) and in the range of schemes for financing and supporting the incubation of R&D projects.

The EIB has significant experience in the financing of innovation in Europe, having been mandated by the EU Member States in the context of the Lisbon Strategy. Since 2002, the Bank has been developing the ‘i2i’ programme, and has made support for the financing of innovation one of the key strategies of its work through FEMIP.

Since 2007, the World Bank, the EIB, the European Commission (MEDIBTIKAR) and GTZ have developed a range of initiatives and tools which take into account the specifics of the Mediterranean (Guidebook on innovation poles, Guidebook on the financing of start-ups and innovative SMEs, Conclusions and recommendation of the Tunis (at the initiative of the World Bank, organised by the Marseille Centre) and Casablanca (at the initiative of MEDIBTIKAR) conferences, training events etc.) A second phase can now begin, with the aim of outlining ways to facilitate the necessary adaptation of financing and support schemes for innovation in the Mediterranean.

Objectives:

The objective of this programme would be to develop pre-operational studies and actions with the aim of:

·  improving awareness of national innovation systems and developing these systems, identifying points for improvement, in terms of regulation, finance and organisation/structure.

·  reinforcing initiatives aimed at a) developing the competences and information of entrepreneurs and of the various stakeholders in the innovation process and b) at stimulating the schemes for financing innovation.

Activities:

The programme is composed of four actions, to be considered as priorities:

Action1: carrying out a benchmarking study on the existing systems for financing and incubation, targeted on a defined number of countries.

Action2: carrying out an initial study preparing the creation of a website for the provision of information on systems of support and financing for innovation and for the promotion of collaborative innovation projects.

Action3: the organisation of workshops based on four themes: 1) innovation strategies, 2)promotion of innovation in SMEs, 3) management of structures for the support of innovation, and 4) services to businesses. In 2009, in partnership with the EIB and the World Bank, GTZ will begin an initial training focussed on the range of services proposed by technopoles for innovative businesses.

Action4: a conference for the Mashrek, following on from the Maghreb conference of June2007, on the problems of development for technopoles and technoparks. This conference will aim to increase awareness on the part of public decision makers of the stakes at play in the development of technoparks. Topics to include PPPs, quality of services, synergies between R&D and business creation, outsourcing.

Deliverables:

The studies (Actions 1 and 2) should include plans for the launch and final reports, as well as for presentations of results at workshops on the various topics.

The thematic workshops (Action 3) should be followed up by publication of their work in the form of conclusions and recommendations.

The work of the Mashrek conference (Action 4) will be the matter of a trilingual publication.

Outcomes Expected:

·  Creation of a network of experts.

Programme Budget

Action 1: 100k EUR

Action 2: 100k EUR

Action 3: 160k EUR

Action 4: 140k EUR

Programme operation: 100k EUR

Contributions from each partner in terms of:

EIB / World Bank / MEDIBTIKAR / Others
Overall Budget / 250k EUR / To be defined (agreement in principle given) / To be defined (agreement in principle given) / In progress
Staff / ¼ senior expert
1 junior expert
Financial contribution / 150k EUR

Monitoring / Evaluation:

Monitoring indicators will be established.

Other Relevant Information / Comments:

Given the number of operators in the field of innovation, this programme can only be put in place in the framework of a real and effective partnership.