Italian Lifestyle: presented the 6 startups of the third edition

The third edition of the accelerator program connecting new entrepreneurial entities with large Italian companies kicked off April 11

April 11 marked the start of the third edition of the Italian Lifestyle accelerator program, created to offer new opportunities to innovative realities in the fashion, tourism and food&wine sectors and which, as every year, will take place in the premises made available by Nana Bianca in the splendid Granaio dell'Abbondanza in Florence.

The already established partnerships of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, Fondazione CR Firenze, Nana Bianca and Fondazione per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione are confirmed for this edition as well, plus, of course, the corporations committed to open innovation: Colorobbia, Cisco, Gucci, Ruffino, Starhotels, Sanpellegrino. These companies will provide their managers to seize opportunities for joint services and new products. The program, which already has a two-year history, has so far enabled the accelerated startups to raise just under €4 mln, initiate more than 100 collaborations and create more than 100 new jobs: results that testify to the positive impact on the territory and the fruitful synergy with the corporations participating in the program.

12-week acceleration program for startups with very different technologies

The technologies selected this year, from 140 applications of which as many as 25 percent are from Tuscany, are very diverse. From the startup that gives new life to textile waste through the activities of people with disabilities to the smart platform designed to transform the experience of buying, tasting and storing wine. From the startup that develops software for robotics in industrial applications to the app that pampers customers of luxury brands and many other technologies.

The six startups - Climate Standard, Baqta, Fody, Albicchiere, Proxima Robotics, Alpha - will have 12 weeks and a grant of 20,000 euros to develop their proposal through the path guided by mentors from the Nana Bianca network.

During the kick-off day on April 11, startups and program partners took turns on stage at the Fondazione CR Firenze, including Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center with Luca Pagetti, head of Financing and Startup Growth, and Alessandro Balboni, head of Innovation Business Development, who said, "Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center supports the Group in building innovation ecosystems for the development of new entrepreneurship and the strengthening in an innovative and sustainable way of already established companies, facilitating the interaction between the different players in the ecosystem. Italian Lifestyle is a virtuous example of how open innovation can concretely bring value to the territory, and we are pleased to inaugurate this third year of the program, characterized by an even greater number of local startups, which we expect will be of particular satisfaction to the entire network of stakeholders."