20 Years Building Tomorrow’s Prosperity Together – ANIMA
Published on 05 March 2026
Twenty Years Connecting
Europe, Middle East & Africa
Two decades after its founding, ANIMA stands as a testament to what patient, principled international cooperation can build — and a springboard for what comes next.
In 2026, ANIMA Investment Network turns twenty. It is a milestone that deserves more than a ceremony — it demands a reckoning with what this singular network has accomplished, and a clear-eyed look at the challenges that still lie ahead for the Euro-Mediterranean-African region.
Who we are
A Do-Tank acting for economic integration
The label matters. ANIMA has always resisted the comfortable role of the observer, the analyst who diagnoses without prescribing, the institution that publishes reports no one implements. From its earliest days, ANIMA set itself a harder challenge: to combine the rigour of a professional NGO with the restlessness of a start-up, and to turn its conclusions into action.
Legally, it is an association that operates as both a multilateral cooperation organisation and a public interest consultancy. In practice, it is something rarer — a trusted intermediary between governments, investors, entrepreneurs and development institutions across three continents, with the credibility to convene them and the agility to move quickly when opportunity appears.
Based in Marseille, France — the natural crossroads between Europe and the Mediterranean — and with a growing presence in partner countries, ANIMA was established in 2006 at the initiative of the European Commission and the investment promotion agencies of Euromed countries. It was, in a sense, the Barcelona Process made operational: the political ambition of Euromed partnership translated into a network that could actually get things done.
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Today that network spans 70 business and investment support organisations and more than 400 experts drawn from national and international institutions, business associations, and industrial and investment networks across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. ANIMA is, in the truest sense, a gateway to the EMEA region.
What we believe
Four Principles, Twenty Years Strong
Institutions age. Principles, if well-chosen, do not. The values that shaped ANIMA in 2006 are the same ones that guide it today — and they are worth naming plainly.
20 Years Anniversay Agenda
A Year of Convergence
The 20th anniversary is not a pause — it is an acceleration. Across 2026, ANIMA and its partners are convening four major international gatherings, each in a different country, each contributing a distinct dimension to a common question: what does a prosperous, sustainable and sovereign Euro-Mediterranean-African economy look like in the decade ahead?
Mediterranean 2036: Future Proofing Economic Prosperity — International Symposium
Key Objectives
- Analyse prospective trends and anticipate disruptions to adapt economic cooperation between Europe, MENA and Africa
- Identify growth sectors and build common roadmaps for shared, sustainable economic development
- Create a platform for dialogue between policymakers, economic leaders, investors and innovators
- Celebrate successful economic cooperation and promote good practices generating innovation and value creation
Connecting Regions, Stimulating Growth: Europe-MENA Investment Partnerships Summit
Key Objectives
- Present investment opportunities and innovations across Green transition, Defence, ICT and Financial services
- Share best practices in investment promotion, public-private partnerships, and green and digital regulation
- Organise business matchmaking between industries, clusters and research centres via Euromed Clusters Forward
Power Euromed: Boosting Innovation and Industrial Value Chains — Capitalisation Conference
Key Objectives
- Promote successful industrial upscaling and clustering dynamics across the Euro-Mediterranean space
- Identify pathways to pursue joint industrial upscaling in green and digital sectors between Europe and MENA
- Bring together cluster managers, policymakers, and financing institutions driving research valorisation and innovation
Catalyst Morocco — Europe-MENA Economic Transitions Forum (provisional title)
Key Objectives
- Present investment opportunities in Green transition, Agrifood, Industry 4.0 and Automotive
- Share experience in investment promotion, territorial marketing and diaspora engagement across the region
- Close with Euromed Clusters Forward Tech Days — matchmaking between industries, clusters and research centres
Looking forward
Twenty Years On, the Work Continues
The green and digital transitions, the reshaping of global value chains, the imperative of inclusive growth from Lisbon to Nairobi — the challenges ahead are large. ANIMA has never been more needed. And after twenty years, it has never been better placed to meet them.
