Sustainable Food Systems Innovation Network for the Global South
The IIH Global Framework
The International Innovation Hub is a global platform that connects cutting-edge agronomic research with innovative entrepreneurship stakeholders across the Global South to accelerate the sustainable transformation of food systems.
An alliance born from the meeting between science and entrepreneurship
The International Innovation Hub (IIH) is the result of a strategic convergence between the territorial ambitions of the Global South and the global scientific excellence based in Montpellier. Its creation in 2024 relies on two complementary dynamics that have shaped the trajectory of this global innovation network.
A Strong Demand from Southern Universities for Scientific Entrepreneurship
The first driving force behind the IIH was born from an endogenous will of the partner countries. Several West African universities, in the process of creating or consolidating their incubators and innovation support structures (SAEI), reached out to the Montpellier ecosystem. Their goal was clear: to exchange good practices in order to professionalize the support provided to their students and researchers and to transform academic excellence into viable economic solutions. Institutions such as UAC, USSEIN, and others in West Africa, as well as IRINGA and SOKOINE in East Africa, expressed the need to break down silos to build a true continuum between education, research, and business.
A Strategic Impulse from the MedVallée Dynamic
At the same time, the scientific hub of Montpellier, the historic cradle of tropical agronomic research, experienced a major acceleration with the launch of the MedVallée initiative led by Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole. Within this framework, agri-agro-environment research stakeholders (Cirad, IRD, INRAE, Institut Agro Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, CIHEAM), in association with the global CGIAR network, sought to co-construct with their historical partners a structuring framework. This approach aimed to create a direct link between cutting-edge science and the entrepreneurial ecosystems of the Global South in order to address the global challenges of food security and climate change.
IIH: A Globally Interconnected Network
From this mutual will, the IIH was born in 2024 and formalized during the second MedVallée Assises. Designed as a “Hub of Hubs,” this global meta-framework ensures strategic coherence while guaranteeing the sovereignty of local ecosystems. The IIH West Africa (2025–2027) project, co-funded by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs through the Fonds Équipe France, constitutes the first operational petal of this daisy-shaped architecture.
Today, the IIH continues to federate science and entrepreneurship to propel innovations born in the Global South, supported by scientific mentorship, in order to accelerate the transition towards sustainable and resilient food systems.
A Hub of Hubs
The IIH is not a single hub, but a meta-framework: a federation of autonomous regional hubs, sharing a common doctrine and mutually reinforcing one another.
Each regional hub operates within its own context — stakeholders, ecosystems, languages, institutional realities — while drawing on the network’s common foundation: shared methodologies, access to Montpellier expertise, international visibility, and co-funding capacity.
This daisy-shaped architecture guarantees both the global coherence of the framework and the local anchoring of each initiative. IIH West Africa is the first operational petal.
What IIH seeks to accomplish
Federating science and entrepreneurship to produce solutions adapted to local realities — and to accelerate the sustainable transitions of food systems in the Global South.
Rethinking Food Systems to address Global Challenges
Food systems are facing major challenges: food insecurity, malnutrition, environmental and health impacts, and climate change. To address them, it is essential to connect scientific expertise with local initiatives in order to foster innovations adapted to the needs of local territories.
Removing Barriers to Unlock Innovation
In many countries in the Global South, these dynamics face several obstacles: lack of funding, limited resources, restricted access to technologies and markets, and insufficient institutional capacities.
Driven by the MedVallée initiative, academic stakeholders from Montpellier, the Métropole, and the international CGIAR network joined forces to create an International Innovation Hub dedicated to sustainable food systems.
Bridging Science and Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Impact
This hub aims to reinforce synergies between research and entrepreneurship, facilitate access to scientific results, mobilize funding for innovation, and support socio-ecological transitions.
Regional Projects, a Global Strategy
The IIH deploys through successive regional waves, adapting its methodology to each local context while drawing on a common foundation.
IIH West Africa
● OngoingBenin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal — 2025–2027. First operational project, 11 signatory partners.
IIH East Africa
● In PreparationA planned extension following the capitalization of learnings from IIH West Africa. Stakeholders already involved in discussions.
IIH North Africa
● In PreparationA strategic region for the framework, linked to the historic Mediterranean vocation of Montpellier and CIHEAM-IAMM.
The Academic Specificity (the “Research-to-Market”)
Scientific cooperation with countries in the Global South has been part of Montpellier’s DNA for decades. Organizations such as CIRAD, IRD, CIHEAM-IAMM, and Institut Agro gradually established themselves there, forming a unique hub dedicated to tropical and Mediterranean agriculture. Federated within Agropolis International, they today constitute a community of more than 2,700 researchers.
Driven by Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, the MedVallée initiative aims to make Montpellier a global hub for sustainable agri-food innovation. Within this context, the Métropole and the CGIAR identified the need for a structured framework capable of connecting cutting-edge research with entrepreneurial ecosystems in the Global South.
The idea of the International Innovation Hub takes shape.
During the second MedVallée Assises, nine globally nine world-class organizations based in Montpellier formalized the creation of the International Innovation Hub. Agropolis International was designated as the coordinator of the collective. The framework sets a clear ambition: to become the reference organization for supporting agri-food innovation in countries of the Global South, starting with an initial anchor in West Africa.
In parallel with the structuring of the Hub, several preparatory projects are launched. The CONECT-AO project, co-piloted by CIRAD and IRD within the framework of the Pôle Universitaire d’Innovation de Montpellier, experiments with the creation of bridges between Montpellier research and socio-economic stakeholders in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.A Business Developer is recruited in Dakar. The IIH delegation travels to Rome to strengthen ties with the FAO and the IFAD.
Eleven partners sign the collaboration agreement for the IIH West Africa project at the Maison des Relations Internationales de Montpellier. The event is held under the patronage of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in the presence of representatives of the FAO and the IFAD. It is the first operational project of the IIH, targeting Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal over the period 2025–2027.
Building on the learnings from IIH West Africa, the framework plans to extend its action to East Africa and North Africa. Stakeholders from these regions are already participating in discussions. The long-term ambition is to build a global network of interconnected and mutually reinforcing agri-food innovation platforms.