ConNext 2021: Today at Luiss, the second leg of the national roadshow

Rome, September 6, 2021 – Confindustria's “Percorso Startup” call is now in full swing with the second stage, held today at Luiss, of the national roadshow leading up to Connext 2021, scheduled for December 2 and 3 at the MiCo in Milan. “Percorso Startup” is the result of a collaboration with RetImpresa and Luiss, through a partnership with LVenture Group and its startup accelerator Luiss EnLabs, as well as Digital Magics, a certified incubator for innovative startups.

Today’s initiative places startups at the heart of the innovative and sustainable development plan for the national entrepreneurial system, highlighting the many initiatives undertaken by Confindustria across all its branches.

The call will be open until September 20 on the website connext.confindustria.it. Its goal is to select the 20 best startups, which will present innovative projects in the four strategic sectors that align with the drivers of Connext 2021: Smart Factory; City of the Future; Sustainable Planet; and People, Life Sciences, and Progress.

The winning companies will be entitled to free registration on the Marketplace of the digital platform until December 2021, access to the event in Milan as visitors, and a personalized stand in the “Expo 3D” area of the event. They will also have the opportunity to organize B2B meetings, participate in digital workshops and events, and deliver speed pitches at the closing event.

Furthermore, by registering for free on the open innovation platform RetImpresa Registry, which uses blockchain technology, all participating startups will have the opportunity to increase the visibility of their business idea and initiate collaborations with other companies, SMEs, and startups even after the call ends, both with those physically present in Milan and those not.

Indeed, following the success of the 2019 edition, which saw 7,000 attendees and 2,500 B2B meetings, and the 2020 edition that was canceled due to the pandemic, Connext 2021 is back with a new phygital format. The expansive Virtual Plaza is already online with a dedicated website, offering access to B2B opportunities, innovative workshops, and themed events.

“The four drivers selected for this new edition of Connext encompass the areas where future competition will unfold. In fact, at the heart of the “Sustainable Planet” driver are Resilience and Business Continuity, topics that are important to Small Business, said Carlo Robiglio, President of Piccola Industria Confindustria. Connext and the cross-pollination it fosters can serve as a significant catalyst for developing solutions that bolster the resilience of the numerous SMEs within our industrial ecosystem. This, in turn, enhances their ability to anticipate events, recover swiftly, and ultimately strengthen their competitiveness. These initiatives must also encompass the regions and communities where businesses operate. The goal is to secure the country by facilitating its transformation into a sustainable and resilient system.”

“Cross-pollination and innovation are the key words that define this initiative, which we are delighted to promote alongside the Young Entrepreneurs to foster the growth of startups through open innovation,” said Riccardo Di Stefano, President of Confindustria's Young Entrepreneurs. Despite the challenging historical and economic climate, by the end of the second quarter of 2021, the number of innovative startups registered in the special section of the Business Register had surpassed 13,500, according to a report by the Ministry of Economic Development (MISE). This represents an 8.1% increase compared to the previous quarter. We must therefore view these young companies as a driving force behind Italy's innovative and technological transformation, and create ever greater opportunities for their growth and development,” concluded Di Stefano.

“Today, startups need to network, seek opportunities, and forge connections with the manufacturing and service sectors. That's why Percorso Startup is the right path to take,” commented Fabrizio Landi, President of RetImpresa. By using our Open Innovation platform “Registry,” candidate startups will also be able to enter the market within a digital ecosystem that enhances their innovative capacity by fostering collaboration with SMEs, large companies, and foreign businesses.”

The second stage of “Percorso Startup verso Connext 2021” was introduced by Massimo Angelini, Director of External Affairs, Corporate Communication & Partnership at Luiss. “The university’s Open Innovation strategy, supported by Confindustria, is heavily focused on initiatives and projects in the startup and digital sectors. In fact, Luiss EnLabs has accelerated over 120 innovative companies since 2013, and with the recent call in Education Technology, launched by the University in partnership with LVenture Group, we have reached a large number of Italian and international digital entrepreneurs. And I'm also thinking of 42 Roma Luiss, the revolutionary coding school that trains digital superstars to help transform businesses and public administration. “Confindustria's 'Percorso Startup' call,” Angelini concluded, “therefore fits perfectly into our ecosystem, a hub that offers the ideal conditions for turning projects into entrepreneurial realities.” Therefore, it's important for our University to actively support it.”