Soft Landing Provence Africa Connect 2025: A Week of Immersion Dedicated to Euro-African Synergies

The immersion week of the Soft Landing Provence Africa Connect 2025 program ended on a high note, after several days filled with exchanges, inspiring meetings, and discoveries. A tremendous collective energy fueled every step of this journey, allowing African and Provençal entrepreneurs to share experiences, learn from one another, and build sustainable bridges for the future.

Soft Landing Provence Africa Connect: A Springboard Program

This year, Soft Landing Provence Africa Connect welcomed 17 African startups from 6 countries, operating in strategic sectors such as healthcare, environment, construction, HR, cybersecurity, tourism, and cultural and creative industries.

Designed as a launchpad towards the European market, the program offers its winners an immersion into the innovation ecosystem of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, enabling them to meet partners, potential clients, and investors, while benefiting from tailored support.

Ce programme est porté par un consortium d’acteurs engagés :
🔹 Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence
🔹 ANIMA Investment Network, Accélérateur M, Marseille Innovation, KEDGE Entrepreneurship, Eurobiomed
🔹 With the support of Provence Promotion, EMERGING Valley, Africalink et la CISAM.

The program will conclude at the sommet EMERGING Valley, a key meeting point for Europe’s and Africa’s tech ecosystems.

A First Day Dedicated to Meetings and Innovation

The week began at the Hémicycle du Pharo, with welcoming words from Paul Bichat, Delphine Lapray, Alexandre Bisquerra, Franck Araujo, and Emmanuel Noutary.

Highlights included:

• Official launch by consortium representatives
  
• Inspiring pitches from the 17 participating startups: Bakchich, Billetfacile, Digital Fennec, SYITECH Group, BIMFLOW, Tech In Hand, Dyno & Motiva Systems, Iziwish, Meriva Santé, PASS SANTE MOUSSO, SgharToon, MONSAPO, Digital Smart Trash, ViKtoria Ventures, Yna Kenya, ResaPrivee, THINKNEO
• Contributions from Provence Promotion, Africalink, CISAM, and EMERGING Valley
  
• Networking lunch before joining #GrandBain2025, in the presence of Martine Vassal, Benoît Payan, Diane Renaud, and Arnaud Mercier
  

A promising opening day, showcasing the vitality of synergies between Africa and Provence.

ICC Day – September 17 at La Friche Belle de Mai (Marseille)

Organized by ANIMA Investment Network

This day spotlighted the cultural and creative industries (CCI), a key sector for many African and Marseille-based entrepreneurs.

Kicking off at the Belle de Mai Media Hub, the day—led by ANIMA with Emmanuel Noutary—enabled inspiring exchanges with major stakeholders:

• 🎶 Olivier Rey (Babel Music XP)

• 🎓 Christophe Mounié (École de Condé & SudAnim)

• 🏙️ Flore Guyon (City of Marseille – CCI, Health & Innovation)

Key moments included:

• Pitches from African CCI startups (Billetfacile, Bakchich, SYITECH Group, ResaPrivee, SgharToon, Iziwish)

• Visit to the studios of Plus Belle La Vie and 574 Sud SNCF

• Meeting between Billetfacile and La Friche’s ticketing team

• Discovery of Radio Grenouille – Euphonia

• Closing at AMI – Aide aux Musiques Innovatrices

Special thanks to the mobilized partners: Rachid Alhiane (Marseille Innovation), Thomas Chavet (Ville de Marseille), Alban Corbier-Labasse (Friche la Belle de Mai), Vincent (BI:POLE / Gros Œuvre Records), and many more.

A Week Concluded on a High Note

From the pitch session with Denis Bergé and the Africalink community, to valuable insights from Philippe Baudez (Campus Groupe AFD), and the financing workshop led by Isadora Bigourdan and Florent Boyer (IODA Consulting), each stage strengthened the projects and opened new perspectives.

Congratulations to the participating startups, a concentration of talent, innovation, and boldness:
ResaPrivee | SgharToon | Digital Fennec | SYITECH Group | Dyno & Motiva Systems | Iziwish | Meriva Santé | PASS SANTE MOUSSO | Yna Kenya | ViKtoria Ventures | Billetfacile | Digital Smart Trash | Bakchich | THINKNEO | MONSAPO | Tech In Hand | BIM FLOW

Thanks to all partners and contributors who made this success possible.

Soft Landing Provence Africa Connect: Building Bridges for the Future

This immersion week illustrates the strength of a mobilized ecosystem, capable of creating strong bridges across the Mediterranean. Soft Landing Provence Africa Connect reaffirms its role as a strategic springboard, serving bold entrepreneurs ready to take on tomorrow’s economic, societal, and cultural challenges.

A program, meetings, and collective energy paving the way for new and lasting collaborations between Africa and Provence.