THE NEXT SOCIETY – Unleashing innovation in the Mediterranean

Research has demonstrated the effects of innovation, particularly in technology, on economic growth, industrial optimisation, improved social welfare and environmental protection.

Innovation is often defined as the result of both advanced research and development (R&D) leading to new industrial products and services, and new marketing or work organisation methods in business practices.

Yet innovation policies should also consider the ability of countries to create original ways of using technology, not necessarily owning or inventing it. This is specifically true for the MENA region, where innovation does not always result from cutting-edge technology or original development of scientific knowledge. Rather, its transformative potential can be achieved in addressing local issues or improving the livelihoods of communities.

THE NEXT SOCIETY, co-funded by the European Union, is an open community made of entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, NGOs, public and private innovation, research and economic development hubs from European and Mediterranean countries, has committed since 2017 to supporting innovators who develop solutions that participate in addressing the main challenges faced by the Mediterranean region.

The ambition of this document is to present synthetically the approach followed by such a community in supporting various MENA innovation ecosystem stakeholders over 5 years, to highlight the key outcomes reached and launch a reflexion based on our experience and the analysis of our impact, so as to nurture future action toward innovation support in this region.