Emerging Valley 2025 : Marseille, Euro-African Innovation Hub

Since its creation in 2017, EMERGING Valley has become an essential meeting point for the technology bridge between Europe and Africa. The 9th edition, scheduled for November 26, 2025, at the thecamp innovation campus, takes on a new dimension by integrating partnerships with Asia and the Middle East, establishing Marseille as a catalyst for intercontinental digital cooperation. Startups, investors, diaspora entrepreneurs, and high-level public decision-makers will converge to co-create the digital alliances of tomorrow.

Inclusive AI at the Heart of the Discussions

The 2025 edition focuses on innovative financing, ethical and sustainable artificial intelligence, startup internationalization, and Mediterranean cooperation. The objective is to deploy cross-border co-investment models to support high-impact startups. Inclusive AI, or “Tech for Good,” will be central to discussions, with international experts highlighting concrete use cases for African development. The summit will also facilitate the “soft-landing” of African companies wishing to establish themselves in Europe, while the Positive Mediterranean initiative, in partnership with the AFD Group, will showcase Euro-Mediterranean cooperation through innovative solutions.

Aix-Marseille-Provence was chosen deliberately. The metropolitan area benefits from exceptional connectivity thanks to numerous submarine cables, making it a digital bridge between Europe, Africa, and Asia. The thecamp campus is designed to foster exchanges, with modular infrastructure and sustainable architecture, providing an environment conducive to transcontinental collaboration.

The numbers demonstrate the scale of the event: EMERGING Valley has already welcomed more than 13,600 participants, 140 investors, 850 speakers, and 750 startups from around sixty countries. In 2024, over 100 startups and 150 speakers participated in about thirty sessions, demonstrating the summit’s continuous growth.

A Major Geopolitical and Digital Ambition: Strengthening Interconnection between Africa, Europe, and Asia

The 2025 edition claims a major geopolitical and digital ambition. It aims to strengthen interconnection between Africa, Europe, and Asia, notably through the IMEC corridor (India-Middle East-Europe), a strategic lever to build transcontinental technology bridges. Concrete initiatives are plentiful: the Provence Africa Connect Award, presented during the summit, recognizes high-impact transcontinental projects, highlighting entrepreneurs’ commitment to sustainable innovation.

However, significant challenges remain. Cross-continental financing remains complex due to regulatory differences, cultural barriers, and fragmented markets. The success of the “soft-landing” for African startups will depend on stakeholders’ ability to create effective and lasting bridges. Data sovereignty and AI ethics also represent critical issues, requiring a harmonized regulatory framework to ensure responsible use and privacy protection.

A Strategic and Symbolic Crossroad

Despite these constraints, EMERGING Valley 2025 remains a strategic and symbolic crossroads. It represents more than a technological meeting: it embodies the desire to build economic, cultural, and geopolitical bridges between Europe and Africa, incorporating Asian partners. The alliances created could generate sustainable projects, strengthen transcontinental synergies, and offer concrete opportunities for startups and investors. The real challenge will be to transform commitments into measurable actions, with lasting collaborations and tangible projects. The summit could thus lay the foundations for sustainable Euro-African digital cooperation, with Marseille as a strategic hub.

For more information : https://www.emergingvalley.online/en/