A NEW START… LAB

UniCredit Start Lab has over the past seven years analysed more than 5,300 business projects and supported 350 innovative start-ups in sourcing opportunities, growing their busines and increasing their market visibility. Now it is time to kick-off this year’s edition!

Applications to the programme will be open until 20 April 2021 on the website.

The criteria for the 2021 edition can be found here.

Applications are open to start-ups and innovative SMEs that have developed projects in the following 4 sectors:

1) Made in Italy (agrifood, fashion, design, tourism, mechanics, robotics, nanotechnology and Industry 4.0)

2) Digital (mobile apps, internet of things, B2B services and platforms, cloud systems, hardware, artificial intelligence and fintech)

3) Life Science (biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, medical devices, digital health care and assistive technologies)

4) Clean Tech (energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste treatment and sustainable mobility).

In recent years, the programme has evolved based on an integrated offer of mentoring activities, managerial training, and the popular Startup Academy, designed to strengthen the entrepreneurs’ skills and mindset, and allow them to network with a wide variety of corporates and investors.
Building on the success of the previous edition, this year will include a new initiative which is being launched for the first time. This takes the form of an event, named StartUp Plus, with free webinars available to a wider audience that will promote an open discussion about key issues entrepreneurs and SMEs are facing.  

StartUp Plus will take place on 16 and 17 February 2021 with a first round of two video streams. During the first two virtual meetings we will talk about "virtuous elements and mistakes to avoid when developing a startup" and "tools and opportunities to finance innovative start-ups".  

For more information about past Startup Academy, you can read a summary of the six episodes of the Startup Academy 2020, during which 60 startups selected from over 600 applications had the opportunity to explore topics such as:

 

• international trends in the challenging pandemic times;
• the importance of a "business dialogue" to win the trust of investors;
• the essential focus on strategies for financing a business idea;
• the skills needed to create valuable partnerships;
• the key factors to foster business resilience;
• and the legal aspects, which are fundamental both during the creation stage and during the life cycle of the new company