Terra Next: the third edition of the acceleration program closes

Demoday on 30 January in Naples: over 3.5 million euros invested in startup in the bioeconomy sectors since the start of activities.

The third edition of Terra Next, the acceleration program dedicated to innovative startup and SMEs in the bioeconomy sector and part of the CDP Venture Capital National Accelerators Network, a network operating throughout Italy with the objective of supporting the growth of startup specializing in the markets with the greatest potential, closed on 30 January today with the Demoday. The result of the CDP Venture Capital initiative, Terra Next sees the participation of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center as co-creator and promoter and the support of Cariplo Factory, which operationally manages the program.

However, according to the report ‘The Future of European Competitiveness’, presented by Mario Draghi and Ursula von der Leyen on 9 September 2024 at the European Commission, the innovation gap between the EU and its main global competitors (the US and China) is clear: despite an investment of €387 billion in research and development (R&D) in 2023, Europe lags behind the US's €928 billion and China's €419 billion. Our continent also suffers from a clear disadvantage in venture capital investments, raising only 17% of global funds compared to 59% in the US and 21% in China. The transition to a circular bioeconomy represents an opportunity to attract investment, stimulate innovation, create regenerative production chains and enhance natural resources, thus contributing to a fairer and more competitive economic model.

It is precisely in this scenario that Terra Next, now in its third year, has become the reference point for startup operating in the bioeconomy sector, receiving more than 450 applications from Italy and Europe. In its first three years of activity, it accompanied 22 startup in their growth, which received EUR 3.5 million in investments from the program and raised EUR 10.5 million in follow-on and external investors.

A contribution that was also emphasized by Giuseppe Nargi, Intesa Sanpaolo's Regional Director for Campania, Calabria and Sicily, who spoke at the event to underline the Intesa Sanpaolo Group's role in promoting innovative sectors, such as the bio-economy, that can make territories grow, particularly the South.

In a day full of events, the 7 accelerated startup made their pitch in front of an audience of investors, companies and partners, in the Auditorium of the Campus of the Federico II University in S. Giovanni a Teduccio, Naples.

After institutional greetings from the partners, including Viviana Bacigalupo, General Manager the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, who emphasized the role of the Innovation Center in frontier research and the creation of innovative ecosystems for the benefit of the Group and the territories, a round table was opened with the paper ‘The Bioeconomy as an engine for sustainable growth. Opportunities and strategies'. During the discussion, the strategic importance of the bioeconomy emerged to address global challenges related to sustainability and economic competitiveness. This sector, in fact, has experienced strong expansion in recent years, having generated a market value in Europe of more than EUR 2,350 billion and involved 16 million employees, and therefore represents a key lever for the European Green Deal. In Italy too, the bioeconomy has shown significant growth, contributing significantly to the national economy and consolidating its strategic role in line with European ambitions. In fact, in 2023, the sector grew by 2.2% compared to the previous year, reaching a total value of EUR 437.5 billion and employing around 2 million people. The bioeconomy-related startup landscape is also particularly dynamic in our country, with 808 active innovative companies, accounting for 6.6% of the total number of Italian startup.

The Terra Next startup

The 7 startup that participated in today's Demo Day have come a long way before reaching this milestone: they passed an initial selection phase among 191 Italian and international applications by Terra Next's evaluation committee (composed of promoters, advisory board and corporate partners involved), benefited from an initial total investment of EUR 750,000, and took part in a 3-month course based in Naples, at the San Giovanni a Teduccio Campus of the Federico II University, during which they had the opportunity to grow through mentorship, training, networking, and face-to-face meetings.

Innovative companies have developed various solutions in the areas of bio-economy, circular economy and sustainability:

• CrioPura: operates in the global water and wastewater treatment market by introducing an innovative technology based on macroporous polymeric hydrogels that offer an environmentally friendly and low-cost solution for the removal of toxic contaminants.
• Farzati: aims to solve supply chain traceability problems by exploiting Artificial Intelligence and blockchain to determine the origin and quality of products to ensure safety for consumers and the environment.
• GenoGra: introduces an innovative graph-based genomic analysis platform with the aim of democratizing access to bioinformatics in the biotech, pharmaceutical and clinical sectors, enabling applications such as crop improvement.
• Immunoveg: develops cell culture systems from plant lines for the production of bio-ingredients for the nutraceutical, cosmetic and novel-food sectors.
• Longevity Pet: through a proprietary platform, develops customized prevention paths through innovative products and solutions for specific needs, with the aim of ensuring a long and healthy life for our pets.
• Plantbit: has developed Bioristor, a biocompatible electrochemical sensor that is inserted into the stem of plants and monitors their health in real time, enabling timely diagnosis.
• SMUSH Materials: using mycelium-based technology, transforms biological agricultural by-products into biomaterials for packaging that are 100% natural, circular and biodegradable.

The accelerator, which benefits from the patronage of the Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security and was also launched with the support of the Fondazione con il Sud, involves the corporate partners Garofalo pasta factory (core partner), Getra Group, Nestlé Group in Italy and Novamont, which provide their contribution in terms of know-how, assets and network for the development of the startup, and the companies Aristea, Nolanplastica, Selepack and Tecno, members of Terra Next. The program also includes the involvement of scientific partners, such as the Federico II University of Naples, Assobiotec, the Campania Digital Innovation Hub, the Italian Circular Bioeconomy Cluster SPRING, the deep tech innovation Centre Materials, and the study Centre S.R.S. – Studies and Research for the South.

Thanks to the collaboration of these partners, the selected start-ups will be able to create synergies with industrial players in the bioeconomy sector, which is already an excellence of Made in Italy.