After the completion of the first stage of the initiative, the “Ideas Competition”, the 19^th edition of the contest for new entrepreneurial projects now enters into full swing with its Stage II, the “Business Plan Competition“.

The contest is free of charge and is open to all aspiring entrepreneurs over the age of 18 with the aim of encouraging and supporting the creation of innovative and knowledge-intensive start-ups to promote the economic development of the Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta regions.

Anyone can participate, either individually or as a team, even without having taken part in the previous stage, by submitting by July 28^th, 2023 an innovative business project in one of the five competition categories: Cleantech & Energy, ICT, Industrial, Life Sciences, Tourism and Cultural & Creative Industries.

Organised within the framework of the PNI – Italian National Award for Innovation promoted by PNICube, the initiative is promoted by the incubators I3P, Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, 2i3T, Business Incubator of the University of Turin, and Enne3, Incubator of Eastern Piedmont. Start Cup Piemonte Valle d’Aosta provides a unique opportunity to finalise studies and research into business projects, regardless of their stage of development, and to join the network of Innovative Company Incubators. The winners will in fact receive support for the birth of their start-ups, support in defining their strategy, accompaniment on the market through contact with their first customers, and introduction to investors and banks for raising capital.

The prizes for the best projects

Thanks to the endowment made available by the Sponsors and Supporters of the 2023 edition, this year’s total prize money exceeds €65,000 and will be paid out in cash and services. The first prize winner will receive €7,500, the second €5,000 and the third €2,500.

The first six projects will also be awarded a prize of €1,000 each for entering the PNI 2023, the Italian National Innovation Award, the “champions’ cup” among the winning business projects of the regional Start Cups that will be held in Milan this year, organised by Università Milano-Bicocca, Politecnico di Milano, Università Bocconi and Università Statale di Milano.

As in the previous editions of the contest, there will be many special prizes promoted by the sponsors of the initiative:

• Cuneo Prize of 10,000 euros, offered by Fondazione CRC to the best entrepreneurial project setting up the business in the Province of Cuneo;
• Valle d’Aosta Prize of 7,500 euros, offered by the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta to the best entrepreneurial project setting up the company in the Pépinière d’Entreprises of Aosta or Pont-Saint-Martin;
• Aerospace Sustainability Award of 7,500 euros, offered by Piedmont Aerospace Cluster to the best project that considers the theme of sustainability in aeronautics or space;
• Social Innovation Award of 7,500 euros, offered by Fondazione Laura & Franco Beltramo ETS to the best entrepreneurial project in the fields of medicine, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, agriculture and food requirements that promotes social progress and the development of better living conditions;
• City of the Future and Sustainability Award, worth a total of €7,500 (€4,000 in cash and €3,500 in services), offered by LINKS Foundation to the best project with an impact on sustainability;
• Two Jacobacci & Partners Prizes, worth a total of 7,000 euros in the form of services, offered by Jacobacci & Partners;
• UniCredit Start Lab Prize, offered by UniCredit and consisting in a mentorship session to assess the suitability of a project to be admitted to targeted contents of the Start Lab programme;
• Three 5G & Emerging Tech Prizes in services, offered as part of the City of Turin‘s CTE NEXT project to the best entrepreneurial projects which make use of 5G technology.

There will also be five special mentions:

• “Equal Opportunities“, for the best project aimed at promoting the principle of equal opportunities and female entrepreneurship;
• “Social Innovation“, for the best project involving the development and implementation of new ideas to meet social needs, create new relationships or partnerships;
• “Open innovation / Industrial Spin Off“, dedicated to the best project concerning innovative products and/or services resulting from a research activity conducted in collaboration between a company and a university in Piedmont;
• “Green & Blue”, for the best project proposing innovative solutions related to climate change, protection and enhancement of natural resources, aimed at creating economic growth and environmental protection;
• “Sustainable Technologies” for the project which stands out the most for its uniqueness within the sustainable technologies field, awarded by Jacobacci & Partners.

How to join the competition

To take part in the Business Plan Competition, it is necessary to submit a Business Plan (or Business Model) describing the business project from June 21^st to July 28^th, 2023 via the online form available on the competition website.

All aspiring entrepreneurs over the age of 18, including university and research centre graduates, and owners of start-ups can apply. For more detailed information on how to participate, it is recommended to consult the official regulations available on the competition website.

For more information you can write to the dedicated e-mail address info@startcup-piemonte-vda.it, while to stay up-to-date on all the news of the competition – in its current or future editions – you can follow the official social channels on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, or subscribe to the free newsletter via the form at the bottom of the site pages.