Collaboration with Connect’Innov LAB, the 1st Tunisian HealthTech incubator

The opportunity for new partnerships between Provence and Africa

Continuing the collaboration between Provence and Africa, Provence Promotion supports the first Tunisian incubator exclusively dedicated to HealthTech Connect’Innov LAB.

Its objective is to identify innovative ideas in the fields of e-health, medtech and biotech, assess their potential and incubate 5 projects per year with an international focus to help them develop. Student, active engineer, health professional or retired researcher — any project leader can present their idea. The first cohort will be formed in August. The call for projects is open until July 25, 2021.

Connect’Innov is a Tunisian support structure exclusively dedicated to HealthTech created in September 2020. Designed to cover the entire value chain of support, involving raising awareness in universities and research centers, sourcing projects and the internationalization and acceleration phase. Its ambition is to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in Tunisia in the HealthTech sector. In May 2021, it launched its Connect’Innov LAB incubator.

Funded by the European Union as part of the Innov’i-EU4Innovation project led by Expertise France, the objective of Connect’Innov LAB is to encourage an idea to become a project, then a start-up capable of developing its solutions in international markets.

In August, the organization will also launch Connect’Innov FAB, a pre-accelerator intended to support more mature innovative HealthTech projects (TRL 4-5).

The opportunity for partnerships between Provence and Tunisia

As part of Connect’Innov LAB, Tunisia and Provence will work together to discover projects in three major areas: digital health, innovative medical devices and biotechnology.

The program is based on a new partnership with:

• Biotechpôle Sidi Thabet, the Tunisian technopark for biotechnology, pharmaceutical and parapharmaceutical industries, life sciences and engineering applied to health,
• INRAP, the National Institute of Research and PhysicoChemical Analysis of Tunisia,
• Eurobiomed, the health center of excellence of the South ProvenceAlps-French Riviera and Occitania regions of France,
• Grand Luminy Technopole which supports biotech project leaders at the Parc de Luminy in Marseille,
• and Provence Promotion, the AixMarseille-Provence economic attractiveness agency, whose mission is to promote the establishment of new businesses in the region.

Initially, 15 projects will be selected and take several training modules over 6 weeks for the first entrepreneurship level (business model, marketing, financing, etc.). Next, 5 projects will be selected to start a 7-month personalized support program with a budget of €25K (5,000 euros per project) before an “Internationalization” phase.

An “Internationalization” bootcamp

By integrating the Connect’Innov LAB incubation program, candidates have access to all the resources and expertise necessary to successfully launch their start-up.

If the objective is to clarify an idea and validate it, the international aspect will be crucial for the 5 projects which will benefit from full support over 12 months.

The program will also include a 4-day bootcamp dedicated to internationalization, which will take place in Marseille in the summer of 2022. As a partner, Provence Promotion will be involved in preparing visits and welcoming project leaders. 

With Eurobiomed and Grand Luminy, every effort will be made to showcase the health ecosystem of Aix-Marseille in the best light. They will meet stakeholders useful for their projects through a personalized program. This immersion will prepare for the development of their international activities by expanding their network.