You have until February 28 to submit your project
3 February 2021 - Over 100 projects have already arrived in response to "CIRCULAR 4 RECOVERY", the Call for Projects on the Circular Economy promoted by Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma e Marzotto Venture Accelerator, which he put more than 10 million euro is available in services and loans to support the development of the 10 best proposals. And it is on the basis of the great interest registered and the many requests received that it was decided to extend the deadline for collecting projects until next 28 February.
By extending the terms of the Call, Marzotto Venture Accelerator, together with UCBM and the many important partners of the initiative, such as Enel, ACEA, Ferrara reclamation, Cisco, Italian State Railways, IBM e Maire Tecnimont, stably committed to sustainability and open innovation for some time, intends to offer the largest possible number of young companies, researchers and developers the opportunity to offer their own contribution to the country's ecological transition.
A challenge that not only engages the entire Italian innovation ecosystem at the forefront but also involves innovators from all over the world, as evidenced by the partial results of the Call, with over 20% of the proposals received from abroad.
To give greater concreteness to its objectives and direct the proposal of technologies, digital solutions and innovative services towards punctual innovation challenges and needs, the Call "Circular 4 Recovery" has segmented the vast theme of the Circular Economy into 5 "Key Focus Areas" . To date, 36,30% of the business projects presented refer to the area Circular City & Land; for 35,9% to the area Circular Bioeconomy; 24,20% to the area circular energy economy; 18,15% to the area New Circular Life Cycles; and for a 7,6% to the area Circular Water Economy.
Commenting on the extension of the Call and the first results recorded, Roberto Guida, Chief Executive Officer of Marzotto Venture Accelerator, has ofchiarahave: “We knew that the theme of the Call would arouse a lot of interest, but the quality of the proposals and the participation we are registering is going beyond our best expectations. There is enormous value out there that we look forward to being able to collect and "put into an ecosystem", rather than a system, thanks to the network of key partners gathered around the initiative. The circular transition requires a radical change in production and consumption models, which requires the precious contribution of knowledge, skills and sensitivity from all the actors of open innovation. In this direction we have decided to start the creation of a dedicated Observatory, with the aim of fully enhancing the heritage of our innovation ecosystem and providing a useful contribution of analysis and proposal, also in support of public choices ".
Thanks to the European Commission's Green Deal Plan, which aims to mobilize at least 1.000 billion euros of investments within the next decade between public and private resources, through instruments such as the Transition Fund and the Sustainable Investment Plan, there will be resources at the service of the ecological transition. However, some estimate that at least three times as many resources are needed to achieve the objectives of the Green Deal, or 3.000 billion euros. Various reform ideas are in the field but it is certain that supporting the growth of the Circular Economy is an indispensable lever for the implementation of the European Plan. From this point of view, the innovative thrust of start-ups and open innovation practices appear fundamental.
Recent estimates, based on data from the Register of innovative start-ups, assign a share of 8,7% of companies registered in 2020 to the Circular Economy, recording a trend of strong and significant growth (from 7% in 2017 to 17% in 2020). The on average smaller company size of Circular Economy start-ups compared to innovative start-ups in other sectors, however, seems to highlight a generalized need for growth and better access to the market, which initiatives such as "CIRCULAR 4 RECOVERY" propose precisely to intercept and satisfy.
The 20 projects that will be selected at the end of the Call will access a Pre-Acceleration Program of a maximum of 12 weeks, aimed at validating technological solutions and business models, through a path of coaching and provision of "tailor-made" services.
At the conclusion of the pre-acceleration phase, up to a maximum of 12 projects will be selected for the final Acceleration Programme, lasting between 24 and 10 weeks, which will have the opportunity to access up to 10 million euros in equity investment allocated by the Accelerator and the rich offer of facilities made available by the organizers and Corporate Partners of the Call.
>> To participate in the "Circular 4 Recovery" Call, it is necessary to fill in the form published on the Marzotto Venture Accelerator website at the page http://www.marzottoventure.com/circular4recovery.
