24 January saw the announcement of the renewal of the multi-year agreement between Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, Fondazione CR Firenze, Nana Bianca and Fondazione per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione dell'Università di Firenze, which aims to support innovative digital enterprises and projects, promote positive development in the local economy in Tuscany, and generate economic and social impact and employment.
The collaboration confirms the mutual commitment of the partners to continue along the path they have undertaken, on the basis of the important results achieved in the first three years of the Italian Lifestyle Accelerator Program: 18 supported entrepreneurial projects, selected from hundreds of proposals received, which have raised more than EUR 4.5 million in capital, launched more than 120 Proof of Concepts or collaborations in various capacities with corporations, and created more than 110 jobs.
At the same time, the first call of the new agreement was launched for the selection of startup and SMEs that develop enabling technologies in the characteristic ‘Made in Italy’ sectors: tourism, fashion, and food & beverage. New this year, applications from university spinoffs will also be accepted.
The start-ups selected in 2025 to take part in the Italian Lifestyle programme will have a grant of 20,000 euro to develop their business proposal in 12 weeks, thanks to the path guided by Nana Bianca's net-work.
The Corporate Partners of the programme, who will actively contribute to the support of the start-ups by providing their expertise to seize opportunities for joint services and new products, are: Gucci, Sanpellegrino, Starhotels, Colorobbia, Cisco and - four new entries - Bauli, Iren, Al-pitour World.
The programme will focus on advanced technologies such as AI, VR/AR, Big Da-ta, IoT, Blockchain and Cybersecurity, with a special focus on the application of principles of sustainability and circular economy. Each candidate project will have to indicate its correlation with one or more of the goals of the 2030 Agenda.
The call will close in May and the selected projects will be announced at the programme's kick-off event, which is expected to take place in September.
‘With the renewal of the agreement, Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center confirms its commitment to promoting the development of innovation ecosystems across the country in order to connect the various players that can contribute to the growth and competitiveness of Italian entrepreneurship, fostering open-innovation processes of companies and generating positive impact in the communities where the Grup-po operates.’ - says Viviana Bacigalupo, General Director of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center.
