the international reference event for Startups, Investors and Scaleups returns to WMF 2023
Announced at WMF – We Make Future – 15, 16, 17 June 2023 – the World Startup Fest. An entire pavilion of the Rimini Fair will host delegations of Startups from all over the world who will be able to introduce themselves to the numerous investors, investment funds and VCs who from all continents will land in Rimini for the occasion. Among the scheduled events, in addition to the B2B meetings, business matchings, dedicated internships and the scale up for future panel, the WMF Startup Competition, one of the largest globally, which for its 11th edition will bring on the Mainstage the best projects from around the world for a comparison on the 12 challenges of the future and a prize fund which, in past editions, reached over 3.3 million euros. Finally, great anticipation for the new reserved events dedicated to matching investors and startups.
From 15 to 17 June 2023, at the Rimini Fair, WMF – We Make Future, the largest Digital Innovation Festival on the planet, will organize the World Startup Fest, the international reference event for Startups, Investors and Scaleups.
An entire pavilion of the Fair will host the event which, like every year for three days, will bring together the main players in innovative entrepreneurship in the Romagna city, creating multiple opportunities for visibility, contact and business.
“Supporting innovative entrepreneurship is a commitment that we carry on throughout the year” explains Cosmano Lombardo, CEO of Search On Media Group and creator of the WMF. “It is a mission that finds new impetus during the three days, connecting national and international networks and opening useful channels for matching startups and investors. This is the result of a journey that takes place through numerous projects, including the International Roadshow during which we carry out careful scouting: the goal is to highlight the best international startups and at the same time export the Made in Italy of innovation, accompanying selected startups in Italy along this internationalization process. In fact, we are aware of the importance of sharing an innovative vision with other contexts and for this reason we work to build and strengthen bridges between Italy and the world.”
Presentation of innovative projects, business and networking events, B2B meetings, competitions, an exhibition district, dedicated internships and thematic panels: the schedule of the World Startup Fest will be very rich, starting with the numerous matching moments that they will offer startups – over 1,000 in 2022 – the possibility of presenting one’s business projects to a profiled international audience, with a marked presence of VCs, incubators and accelerators.
Thanks to the WMF International Roadshow – WMF’s global digital cooperation project – the World Startup Fest will see the participation, during the three days of the Festival, of various international innovative networks and ecosystems: an unmissable opportunity to expand the network of contacts and new global partnerships.
Artificial intelligence, climate change, sustainable development and robotics applied to everyday life will also be some of the topics covered on the Startup Stage, the stage where 120 innovative startups will take turns, also selected from the Italian and International Roadshow competitions, and which will way of presenting their projects and their business idea in front of investors, companies, incubators and professionals, who will assign numerous prizes and incubation paths.
There will also be the Scale up For Future panel, with the experiences of innovative projects that have rapidly scaled the reference markets, the Startup Showcase, with the presentation of emerging innovative projects, together with the Entrepreneurship Stage and the Export Stage: respectively dedicated to companies in the world of tech and innovation with inspirational interventions, case studies and useful suggestions for those who want to start their own entrepreneurial project and to show and discuss the internationalization scenarios open to startups.
The Startup District also returns to enrich the Rimini Fair, the exhibition area that hosts Italian and international startups together with the most advanced technological prototypes: already more than 250 startups from countries including France, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Croatia , Greece, Egypt presented their projects in the District, getting in touch with companies, investors and WMF participants.
11th edition for the biggest International Startup Competition
On the other hand, the historic Startup Competition of the WMF reaches its 11th edition, one of the largest competitions for startups at a global level which, in past editions, reached a total prize pool of over 3.3 million euros and collected applications from more than 4,300 startups . The 6 finalist startups will have the opportunity to compete on the Mainstage, in front of an audience of 5,000 people made up of corporates, investors and venture capital, as well as Festival participants. The tender will once again ask the startups to indicate how their innovative project intends to respond to one or more of the 12 Challenges of the Future identified by the WMF: an excellent way also to concretely present themselves to the jury of investors who may decide to support the growth of the businesses in the tender.
Hundreds of applications have already been received from all over the world through the call that will close on 2 April.
Among the partners who have supported the WMF Startup Competition to date also include Cariplo Factory, Digital Magics, Engineering, Golinelli Foundation, Gellify, Hubspot, H-Farm, IAG, InnovUp, Lazio Innova, Le Village, LVenture Group, Nana Bianca, OVHcloud , Plug and Play, Qonto, Pranaventures, RDS, Unicredit Start Lab.
Another novelty of this edition for the World Startup Fest are the new event formats dedicated to networking and matching between investors from all over the world, and between startups and investors: new opportunities designed to encourage meeting and the development of new virtuous collaborations, able once again to bring Italy and the world into dialogue.
WMF – The largest Digital Innovation Festival on the planet
The appointment with the WMF, the international event entirely dedicated to the world of innovation, is back on 15, 16 and 17 June 2023. The 2023 edition, scheduled at the Rimini Fair, will bring together the best of digital and social innovation, the main national and international players, startups and investors, institutions, universities and non-profit organizations in the sector. With more than 36,000 attendances in 2022, more than 700 speakers and guests from all over the world, 1,000 startups and 77 training and open internships, now in its 11th edition, the WMF is a reality with a global vocation, a catalyst for innovation for a concrete collective improvement. The event is conceived and produced by Search On Media Group.
Search Media Group
Since 2004, the company has aimed at spreading digital culture by managing communities, supporting sharing activities and carrying out strategic and operational consultancy, with the Search On Consulting department, in the Digital Marketing and Digital Transformation sector for large companies. The Education Business Unit – which organizes the WMF and other training events – and the ibrida.io platform – which manages online, hybrid and offline events, in a customizable and flexible way – was born from the experience and professionalism of Search On Media Group.
Press release
We make future