The BIAT 22 edition connected dozens of investors with Italian startups
BIAT 2022 edition just finished in Salerno, Italy. The conference, which started in 2014, has become stronger and more relevant every year. The idea is simple and effective: bring potential investors and partners from around the world to Italy to meet innovative Southern Italian startups and SMEs in need of expansion and partnership.
Every year, Italian startups have had the opportunity to meet foreign investors close to their own headquarters.
The three-day event consists of networking and panels, but most of the time is devoted to the most important thing, which is meeting startups and investors one-on-one, in two pre-arranged and organized “speed dating” rotating sessions. every day.
The projects presented this year were from the Green Economy, ICT, Bio & Health Tech, Robotics and Automation, Space Economy and Smart City sectors. A total of 76 startups from 8 municipalities in southern Italy attended face-to-face meetings with 54 potential investors or partners from 27 countries, including Canada, USA, Singapore, Lebanon, Croatia, Great Britain, India, Japan and Finland.
Here are some interesting projects presented by Italian startups:
Visafy tries to streamline the visa application process. Instead of communicating or even physically going to consulates or embassies, you can fill out the application and attach all the necessary documents through the Visafy online service, which you can pick up even from home.
The service facilitates visa applications for many countries, currently including the United States, Thailand, Great Britain, Australia, Russia and China, among others.
ASPRID (Airport System Protection From Intruding Drones) is an EU-funded project coordinated by Inta. The project has received more than one million euros from the EU’s Horizon program for the research and development of systems that protect airport areas from so-called rogue drone flights over unauthorized areas by detecting and neutralizing drones.
Preinvel claims to have invented the world’s first “filterless” air purifier that solves industrial pollution.
The company claims to have built, tested and validated a device capable of stopping particles smaller than 1 micron.
The solution does not contain mechanical or electrical filters, but uses a patented airflow mechanism to perform the task. Thus, there is no need for filters and the work required to change them.
These are just a few of the many interesting projects presented at the 2022 edition of Biat. A more comprehensive list can be found at BIAT web pages.
After three days of intensive meetings and networking, delegates return home with a stack of business cards and new contact information, but the conversation has only just begun. Each version of BIAT has brought several investments to Italian companies, and this one is no exception. An event supported by the EU and fully organized by the Italian Trade Agency would indeed be a model of good practice that should be copied in other countries in Europe and beyond.
BIAT (La Borsa dell’Innovazione e dell’Alta Tecnologia), an initiative of the Italian Trade Agency, is the most visible event included in the “Piano Export Sud” program, a comprehensive and ambitious 5-year action plan designed to benefit SMEs. ups, university spin-offs and research centers in eight Italian regions: Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Sardinia and Sicily.
The plan has been developed in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MiSE) in accordance with the European Commission’s Enterprise and Competitiveness National Action Plan 2014-2020 (European Regional Development Fund – ERDF).
The Italian Trade Agency – ITA is responsible for strategy, planning, operations and management in cooperation with regional governments and local industry associations.
ITA – Italian Trade Agency is a government agency that supports the business development of Italian companies abroad and promotes the attraction of foreign investment to Italy.
Thanks to a wide network of foreign offices, ITA offers information, assistance, consulting, promotion and training to Italian small and medium-sized companies. It uses the most modern multi-channel promotion and communication tools and works to defend the excellence of Made in Italy in the world.
Alexis Kouros
Helsinki Times