ANIMA – The network presents its ambitions for the future

ANIMA Investment Network organised on November 12, 2018 in Marseille an extraordinary Board of Directors which was the occasion of a transfer of presidency between Khalil Laabidi (Tunisia) and Abdelkader Betari (Morocco).

At this meeting, the network announced the launch of new services, and affirmed its ambition to contribute to the promotion of the Mediterranean as a pilot region for sustainable and inclusive development in the EMEA region (Europe – Middle East – Africa).

This Board of Directors brought together the administrators of ANIMA Investment Network’s current term of office and those newly elected for the period 2019-2021. It was an opportunity to discuss the network’s strategy and present the new services that ANIMA is launching at the end of the year.

In 2013, the agency FIPA Tunisia, of which Mr Khalil Laabidi was the Director General, took the presidency of ANIMA while the association had just completed the project Invest in Med co-financed by the European Union and the Seed Fund, Implementation and Guidance (FARO) of the Union for the Mediterranean. At that time, the ANIMA secretariat launched the LACTIMED project and worked on redesigning its project portfolio. This development work under the Tunisian presidency has been a great success with the implementation of five cooperation projects:

• In the field of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) promotion and internationalisation of enterprises: EUROMED Invest
• In the area of diaspora investment promotion: MedGeneration
• About impact and inclusive development: LACTIMED, EDILE
• In developing innovation: Euromed@Change, 

These projects had a significant impact on business and investment flows to Mediterranean countries, and on capacity building for economic development stakeholders in the region, a contribution that has been recognised on many occasions in the EU evaluations.

The network also celebrated its 10th anniversary during the Tunisian presidency through the EMEA Business Forum, a two-day event organised in Marseille with the support of Région SUD Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the City of Marseille, the Aix-Marseille Provence metropolis and the Agence de l’Oriental development agency (Morocco). 

At the same time, ANIMA has launched ANIMA Projets, a shared service for assistance and development of cooperation projects that helps its members in the identification of opportunities, development and management of cooperation projects financed by international donors. This accompaniment is being very successful and contributes to boosting members loyalty around the network (80 members in 18 countries in 2018).

Since 2017, ANIMA leads two major cooperation initiatives for economic development in the Mediterranean, DiafrikInvest (promotion of diaspora investments) and THE NEXT SOCIETY (promotion of innovation ecosystems) and opened new fields of cooperation with 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa thanks to the agreement signed with RIAFPI, the International Network of Francophone Investment Promotion Agencies.

Abdelkader Betari, President of the new board of directors for the 2019-2021 term of office

With the new elected Moroccan President, Abdelkader Betari, a former university professor in France, currently Director of the International Cooperation and Economic Promotion Pole of the Agence de l’Oriental (Morocco), ANIMA is opening a new chapter and launching several new services:
 

• A certifying training offer for executives of investment and economic development agencies: The Economic Development Master Classes
• Peer-to-peer twinning and support programme for these agencies: The Peer Learning Programme
• An offer of consulting and assistance for companies and institutions active in economic development: ANIMA Expertise

 
With these services, which complement ANIMA Projects and the initiatives carried out by the ANIMA network (THE NEXT SOCIETY, DiafrikInvest), ANIMA aims to strengthen the positioning of the Mediterranean as a pilot region for sustainable and inclusive development in the EMEA (Europe – Middle East – Africa) zone, as well as to pay attention to the development of local territories. 

 
The network intends to act on the effectiveness of public policies and institutions, on the accompaniment of companies creating a positive impact in the countries, and more generally on the attractiveness of the Mediterranean as a region where entrepreneurial dynamism gives rise to inspiring innovations that contribute to the sustainable development challenges facing the world.

The members of the new Board of Directors

ANIMA Investment Network, under the management of Emmanuel Noutary, the General Delegate whose mandate has also been renewed for three years, presents the members of its new Board of Directors which brings together 15 organisations representing nine different countries in the Mediterranean: 

• AMDIE  – Moroccan Investment Development Agency (Morocco)
• AMEC – Association of Internationalised Industrial Companies (Spain)
• BUSINESS France (France)
• CCIMP – Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Marseille Provence (France)
• CEIPIEMONTE – Piemonte Agency for Investments, Export and Tourism (Italy)
• CONECT – Confederation of Corporate Citizens of Tunisia (Tunisia)
• ENTERPRISE GREECE – Agence de promotion des investissements et du commerce (Grèce)
• FIPA Tunisia – Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (Tunisia)
• GAFI – General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (Egypt)
• INSME – International Network for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (Italy)
• MALTA ENTERPRISE  (Malta)
• Région Sud – Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (France)
• SEBC – Syrian Enterprise & Business Centre (Syria)
• Agence de l’Oriental (Morocco)
• City of Marseille (France)