Fourteen Congolese startups and some of the country's leading agricultural entrepreneurs and local stakeholders gathered at the Enrico Mattei Campus in Pointe-Noire on 3 and 4 October to participate in the “Atelier d'entrepreneuriat” training and networking event aimed at boosting the country's innovation ecosystem.
The initiative is linked to Eni's agri-hub project in Congo, which aims to produce biofuels from agricultural raw materials on marginal land that does not compete with the food chain.
"This is a joint initiative," said Mirko Araldi, CEO of Eni Congo, "aimed at building an innovative ecosystem with young startups, industry experts, agricultural entrepreneurs and researchers. Participants will have the opportunity to meet key players in the sector and make valuable contacts for their business, promoting sustainable development in the country in line with the development policies of the National Development Plan.”
The training sessions were led by experts in the field, with the aim of helping participants acquire new skills and knowledge, and to foster relationships between the different players in the Congolese innovation ecosystems. In addition, the startups selected by the local association “Pratic and Salon Osiane” had the opportunity to present their innovative projects to an audience of potential partners.
The event was made possible thanks to the support of the Eni Centre of Excellence for Service Design, User Experience & Agile, in conjunction with the Italian LUISS Business School.
In the Republic of Congo, Joule is working to promote local entrepreneurship with incubation and acceleration programmes for both startups and businesses working together on joint projects. The partnership with Eni Congo began before the summer with the entrepreneurial training course, which ended in May 2023 and was organised for a selected group of agricultural stakeholders (farmers, local aggregators, companies).
