A Mediterranean Bridge for African Innovation
Med Green as a gateway to Italy and Europe for African innovative startups, and a Mediterranean hub for technology transfer and fundraising.
Talk by Fabrizio Merola, Board of Directors, Med Green S.p.A. · Panel 4
Forum theme
Let's grow together. Let's transform the future
Grow
Sowing today for a harvest tomorrow, together, because no one manages water, climate or markets alone.
Transform
Moving from exporting raw materials to exporting products. From the edge of the value chain to its centre.
One sea, two energies
≈ 19
median age in Africa, the youngest continent
≈ 43
median age in Europe: capital, markets, technology
Source: UN World Population Prospects (rounded)
Our starting point
We start from honesty
“We do not yet have a track record in international cooperation with Africa. We are preparing to build one, seriously, and together with you.”
A method
Test, sell, fund: a clear acceleration path
A network
Shareholders, partners and investors in Italy and Europe
A will to listen
Your priorities first, before any project
Who we are
An accelerator from Southern Italy
Founded in 2022. Registered office in Eboli (Salerno, Campania), presence in Luxembourg. We help market-ready innovative companies grow faster.
Invest
In innovative startups and development projects, through equity options and financial agreements
Transfer
Technology transfer and commercial development: bringing technologies where they are not yet available
Advise
International tax, finance and corporate law, through our shareholders and partner firms
Our ecosystem
From the first idea to the first investor
- 01
EC4I APS
Youth and university students: culture of innovation
- 02
BiX Incubator
Companies not yet market-ready: model, team, structure
- 03
Med Green
Market-ready companies: acceleration, markets, capital
- 04
Fund vehicle
Luxembourg venture capital vehicle (planned)
36
partners across Med Green and BiX: entrepreneurs, professionals, managers and investors from Italy and Europe
Companies we follow today: Energy storage · Precision agriculture · AI · Biomedical diagnostics · FinTech
The idea
One bridge, two lanes
Africa
innovative startups
Eboli
Mediterranean hub
Italy & EU
markets · capital · tech
Acceleration
test · sell · fund
Technology transfer
Italian solutions for urgent needs
Value grows in Africa, with Europe as market and ally
Lane 1 · Acceleration · Test
Piana del Sele: Europe's open-air lab
One of Europe's leading agri-food districts: buffalo mozzarella, fruit and vegetables, ready-to-eat salads sold across Europe.
A result obtained here becomes a reference that opens doors across the European market.
- Agriculture
- Livestock
- Fisheries
- Forestry
- Food processing
- Climate & energy
Lane 1 · Acceleration · Sell & fund
From a tested product to a growing company
Sell
Commercial networks in Italy and Europe
- Distributors and agents
- Retail and cooperatives
- Industrial partners
Public capital
Grants that reduce the risk
- Regional grants
- National incentives
- EU programmes
Private capital
Investors that fuel growth
- Business angels
- Professional investors
- Institutional investors and VC
Our principle
The value stays in Africa
In Africa
- Headquarters
- Ownership and intellectual property
- Production and jobs
- Income and wealth
In Eboli
- European branch
- Technology partnership
- Sales towards European markets
- Finance and investor relations
Not moving companies out of Africa: opening a European door for companies that remain African.
Illustrative example
The journey of a startup across the bridge
A young founder from Dakar has built a low-cost solar dryer that cuts post-harvest losses and lets women's cooperatives sell processed food.
- 1
Assess & agree
Evaluation and agreement with Med Green
- 2
Test
Field trials with Piana del Sele farms and processors
- 3
Meet buyers
Distributors and industrial partners in Italy and Europe
- 4
Raise capital
Financial plan, public grants, private investors
- 5
Open EU branch
A European address at the Cittadella in Eboli
The company is still hers. Production and jobs are still in Dakar. Now it has a larger market, new investors and an address in Europe.
Lane 2 · Technology transfer
Italian excellence for urgent needs
Irrigation & water
Drip systems, moisture sensors, water reuse
Precision agriculture
Early plant-disease diagnosis, field monitoring
Mechanisation
Machines sized for smallholder farmers
Processing & packaging
Transform locally, keep value locally
Energy & cold chain
Renewables and storage beyond big cities
Digital traceability
Access to global markets and standards
Technology + training + maintenance + local enterprise · Not a machine in a container
Lane 2 · How it works
From your need to a funded project
- 1
Your need
A territory, a value chain, a problem
- 2
Italian solution
The best-fit technology and company
- 3
Co-design
A project built with local partners
- 4
Funding
EU funds and the Mattei Plan
- 5
Deploy & train
On the ground, with local people
Together with complementary Italian partners
Organisations with long experience in Mediterranean agriculture and cooperation, such as CIHEAM Bari. Our role: select companies and technologies, structure projects, build the financial plan, find the resources.
The hub
Cittadella dell'Innovazione, Eboli
About 20,000 m² in the city centre
Former Pezzullo pasta factory, owned by the Municipality
Programming document signed
With the Municipality of Eboli, within regional PRIUS funds
Heart of an agri-food district
Living lab for agritech, food and climate startups
A national energy node
Tyrrhenian Link converter station · Southern Italy SEZ
A shared European home for African and Italian startups, side by side
Connected by road, rail, air and sea
500 m
A2 motorway, Eboli exit
Salerno–Reggio Calabria route
7 km
Battipaglia station
High-speed rail services
15 km
Salerno Costa d'Amalfi Airport
Scheduled flights since 2024
35 km
Port of Salerno
Commercial port on the Tyrrhenian Sea
80 km
Naples International Airport
Capodichino, Campania's main airport
Approximate distances from the Cittadella dell'Innovazione · Eboli, Province of Salerno, Campania
Where we stand today
First steps, real and signed
≈ 30
expressions of interest from innovative startups to settle in the Cittadella
1
agreement signed with a French venture capital firm
1
programming document signed with the Municipality of Eboli
2
agreements being built with Campania Region and the Italian Government
1
Luxembourg vehicle ready to be reactivated for a VC fund
4
investor groups in an Italian network: corporates, institutional, professional, private
We are building the foundations. The results, we want to build with you.
The next 12 months
Opening the channels that matter
Campania Region
After Agriculture: Productive Activities, Health and Technological Innovation
Italian Government
Mattei Plan mission structure, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, CDP
Investors
Beyond France: Spain and other European and Mediterranean countries
Our fund
The Luxembourg vehicle raising capital for Italian, African and Mediterranean startups
The countries at the panel
Ten countries, ten concrete starting points
Comoros
AI for loan portfolios
Digital public finance
- Mattei Plan
Côte d'Ivoire
A pilot in Bouaké
Fast track to Europe
DR Congo
Map the needs
Ready Italian solutions
Cameroon
A route to European buyers
Test to EU standards
Burkina Faso
Efficient irrigation
Local processing
Madagascar
Two regions, one protocol
Visit Eboli
- Mattei Plan
Senegal
Municipality to municipality
Women entrepreneurs to Italy
Mali
Bankable projects
Malian startups to Europe
Zambia
Energy for off-grid farms
A startup pipeline
- Mattei Plan
Tanzania
Cold chain & clean energy
Tanzanian agritech to Eboli
What we ask you
Three simple things
- 1
Refer your innovative companies
Startups and young founders ready to bring a product to Italy and Europe
- 2
Tell us your most urgent needs
We will look for the right Italian technologies and build cooperation projects together
- 3
Build partnerships with us
Institutions, associations and networks of women and men entrepreneurs
Ready to start tomorrow
Four concrete offers to start together
Refer a startup
Send us innovative companies with a ready product. We reply with a first assessment within 30 days.
Visit Eboli
A delegation visit to the Cittadella and the Piana del Sele in 2027, to see the test field with your own eyes.
Co-design a project
Pick a need. We find the Italian solution and partners, and prepare the dossier for the Mattei Plan or EU funds.
Women founders
A joint selection with the women's networks at the Forum, from Africa to Italy and back.
Let's build the bridge together
Refer a company, tell us a need or propose a partnership: the Med Green office replies in Italian, French or English.
Eboli (SA), Italy · Luxembourg
Italiano · Français · English