Four new partners for Covid-19 Challenge

At call4ideas of Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma and Marzotto Venture Accelerator with the support of Enel, FS Technology, Invitalia and Unicredit

17 April 2020 - Just two weeks after its opening, the “Covid-19 Challenge”, Call for Ideas promoted by Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma and Marzotto Venture Accelerator to help address the global emergency of the Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), has already received applications from over fifty young companies and teams who have presented ideas and projects with high technological content in the healthcare, economic and social. “Covid-19 Challenge”, whose deadline for collecting applications is May 31st, sees Marzotto Venture Accelerator making 5 million euros available in services and financing (equity and loans) and marks the debut of the first Open Innovation Academy developed in Italy from a University (Bio-Medico Campus of Rome) with a venture capital fund.

The importance of the initiative is also confirmed by the interest of Enel and the support of important partners at the forefront of innovation: INVITALIA, FS Technology and Unicredit. The objective of the Call is to support public containment policies in the SARS-CoV-2 health emergency phase, the management of the post-emergency phase in its various economic and social dimensions, the redefinition of the prevention, containment and management system of new epidemiological and health emergencies.

Enel, a leading group in the application of open innovation, welcomes the Covid-19 Challenge on openinnovability.com, its digital crowdsourcing platform and relaunches it in the Enel Innovation Hubs present in the primary innovation ecosystems around the world. Furthermore, it will evaluate startups selected by Marzotto Venture Accelerator and Campus Bio-Medico University for the development of possible collaborations and concrete support in the testing and development phase of the idea.

FS Technology, a company of the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Group dedicated to technology and innovation, whose mission is to enhance and support digital transformation, guaranteeing better quality, efficiency and time-to-market of services for people, will look at the selected projects by Covid-19 Challenge to develop its innovation activities.

Invitalia antenna, the Italian development agency whose mission is to look at innovation as a lever for the country's growth, supports the Covid-19 Challenge with a dedicated team that provides services with high added value, such as: guidance and in-depth analysis of the various measures that make up the the Invitalia offer for business support; assistance with planning, valid support of a methodological nature, provided in the phase preceding the submission of subsidy applications, with particular regard to Smart&Start Italia, the incentive program for the birth and development of innovative startups with projects ranging between 100 thousand and 1,5 . million euros.

Finally, UniCredit, one of the main Italian and European banking institutions, to actively support the business and innovation projects that will be presented, makes the UniCredit Start Lab business platform available. Two of the most interesting projects will be able to access an inclusive personalized mentorship path with professionals from the UniCredit network; participation in the management training of the Startup Academy; a coaching program by the Start Lab team and the organization of Business Meetings with Corporate customers of UniCredit and with potential investors.

To participate in the call, fill out the form on the website http://www.marzottoventure.com/covid-19challenge/.

Roberto Guida, Chief Executive Officer of Marzotto Venture Accelerator, comments: «Seeing players of such great importance and strength such as ENEL, FS Technology, Invitalia, UniCredit, gather around our Call, strengthens us in the belief that never before can a common approach and mutual support make the difference in development of innovative solutions that can help us live the scenario that is emerging. A world of ideas, design skills and brilliant minds that, also thanks to these important collaborations, we will be able to involve in the challenge».

«The partnerships with ENEL, FS Technology, Invitalia and UniCredit represent the natural complement to the architecture of the Campus Open Innovation project. – adds the General Director ofUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Andrea Rossi – The support and collaboration with partners of high standing will allow, in line with the design of the platform, broad access to financial resources and technological support, which will make it possible to quickly scale the development phases of products and processes useful for dealing with the unprecedented and complex post-crisis needs.

«This emergency has strong impacts on the health system, on the health of citizens, but also on the way we work and will work in the future. - explains Ernesto Ciorra, Chief Innovability Officer of Enel - We are looking for all those technologies and solutions that can make the company and workers even more resilient in the future in order to continue to provide our support to Italy and to all the countries in the world where we are present".

«Digital and intelligent data management can offer a path of change and discontinuity in rethinking post-crisis business models and reorganizing internal business activities in a more efficient, resilient and sustainable way. – he claims Alessandro La Rocca, Chief Executive Officer of FS Technology - From this point of view, the support for innovative ideas in smart mobility and in the transversal use of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain seems to us to be an important contribution that our company can make to the country".

«By joining this Call4Ideas as a partner we aim to promote Invitalia's financial instruments and services useful for supporting and supporting new entrepreneurial initiatives capable of proposing innovative solutions in the post-crisis scenario. - Ofchiara Ernesto Somma, Head of incentives and innovation at Invitalia - Startups represent, in fact, a very important pillar on which to support the relaunch of our post-emergency Covid-19 economic system".

Andrea Casini, Co-CEO Italy of UniCredit he comments: “In this very delicate moment for our country, UniCredit has put in place extraordinary measures to support businesses and households grappling with this difficult situation. With the support of the "Covid-19 Challenge" we are making available to the project the know-how in the world of start-ups gained over the years with the experience of UniCredit Start Lab. In fact, we believe that smart and disruptive business ideas and projects can never provide functional responses to a situation never experienced before”.