nextSociety

nextSociety operates as an open community of change-makers, including entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, and public and private innovation hubs, primarily focused on economic development and innovation across Europe and the Mediterranean. The initiative was launched by ANIMA Investment Network and began a four-year action plan in 2017, co-funded by the European Union, with a budget of approximately €7.7 to €7.8 million. The project, which ran through 2021, aimed to reinforce innovation ecosystems in seven Mediterranean countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia.

The organization's business model is centered on fostering a collaborative environment for economic growth rather than direct revenue generation from a single product. It connects a network of over 300 business, innovation, and investment organizations with 2,500 international SMEs and entrepreneurs. The core of its operations involves providing support to various stakeholders within the innovation ecosystem. For startups, nextSociety offers tailored support, including workshops, training, and coaching to help them internationalize and secure funding. For business clusters, it provides peer-learning services and assistance with international partnerships to guide them toward management excellence. The initiative also works to accelerate technology transfer by connecting research and technology organizations with potential industry partners and investors.

A key function of nextSociety is to improve policy frameworks by establishing a dialogue between public and private sectors and benchmarking the performance of innovation ecosystems to inform strategic roadmaps. Through partnerships with organizations like Berytech in Lebanon and events such as Business Innovation Days, nextSociety actively promotes a culture of innovation and provides platforms for networking and knowledge exchange. For instance, it organized bootcamps to help researchers and innovators turn their technology projects in sectors like food, water, and energy into commercially viable businesses. In 2021, a partnership with Bpifrance's EuroQuity platform was announced to connect the community's companies with a wider network of investors.

Keywords: economic development, innovation ecosystem, Mediterranean startups, internationalization support, cluster development, technology transfer, public-private dialogue, EU-funded project, ANIMA Investment Network, startup coaching, investment networking, policy framework, innovation hubs, entrepreneurship community, SME support, cross-border collaboration, sustainable development, Berytech, EuroQuity, innovation policy