What is it?
Start Cup Puglia – Regional Innovation Award – which has reached its 15th edition since 2008, is the competition that rewards new regional entrepreneurial initiatives with a high level of knowledge, offering the possibility to transform a business idea into a real enterprise, through project accompanying activities, technical assistance and cash prizes.
To compete, participants will have to prepare a Business Plan that defines an entrepreneurial idea and which will be submitted to the evaluation of experts in the field. You can compete for one of the following categories, identified by the organization of the National Innovation Prize: Life science – MEDTech; ICT; Cleantech & Energy; Industrial.
More info about: www.startcup.puglia.it
ORGANIZATION
Start Cup Puglia is organized by ARTI – Regional Agency for Technology and Innovation, in collaboration with Regione Puglia and PNI – National Award for Innovation. A Promoting Committee, consisting of entities and organisations supporting the initiative, supports the promotion of the competition in order to expand its reputation and participation.
To whom it is
Business projects submitted by:
• a single physical person, who intends to start an innovative undertaking in Puglia;
• informal teams, composed of two or more components, who intend to start an innovative company in Puglia;
• innovative enterprises, which were formed after 1 January 2022; or already constituted in 2021, but which declared the beginning of the activities on a date after 1 January 2022; or constituted in 2021 but which have not yet declared the beginning of the activities.
In all three cases, candidates must indicate a natural person as a project referent.
AWARDS
The best selected business plans will be invited to participate in the final of the Start Cup Puglia 2022, scheduled on 13 October. On that occasion, the Jury will determine the 4 winners of the competition, integrating the evaluation of the business plan with the evaluation of the oral exposure of the finalist projects.
The 4 winners, not necessarily belonging to each of the 4 categories, have cash prizes worth:
• 10,000 euros for the 1st ranked
• 7.000 euro for the 2nd classified
• 5,000 euros for the 3rd grade
• 3,000 euros for the 4th grade.
The Jury will proclaim the absolute winner of Start Cup Puglia 2022, which will receive the special mention "Regional Award for Innovation". The other two special mentions, always assigned during the final by the Jury, will be reserved to: "Social Innovation", defined according to the criteria expressed by the legislation for Innovative Startups (Law 221/2012) and "Social enterprise in optical Equal Opportunities". As for the previous year the Jury will finally award a special prize of 2.000 euros reserved for the best project that has finished, or is carrying out, the path of entrepreneurial accompaniment within the Regional Intervention "Estration of Talents", implemented by ARTI.
The 2022 edition of Start Cup Puglia is enriched with a novelty, a special prize of 2,000 euros called "Green and Blue climate change" for the project with the greatest potential of climate change, organized in collaboration with the Group GEDI, media partner of the PNI. The winner will also be invited to compete for the National Innovation Award.
HOW IT WORKS
This edition, also proposing a consolidated formula over the years, is divided into two phases: a first, called "From the idea to the Business Plan" and a second, called "Gara dei Business Plan".
In the first phase, scheduled from May to July, potential candidates can request and participate in online project accompaniment sessions both individual and common, aimed at the best structure of the Business Plan. These deadlines:
• 17 May – 05 July: is the time slot within which you can request participation in design accompanying services regarding the Business Plan, compiling a "reservation card" directly on the site of Start Cup Puglia www.startcup.puglia.it
• 30 May – 08 July: it is the time slot within which you can take part in the joint accompanying sessions "from the formulation of the entrepreneurial idea to the Business Plan". The meetings, organized in online laboratory activities focused on the most common issues, are "tailored" on the specific needs highlighted by potential candidates.
In the second phase, scheduled from 11 July to 16 September, it is possible to apply the Business Plan to the real competition. Those wishing to participate are not obliged to present the "reservation card" required in the first phase and, therefore, can choose to apply their Business Plan directly by September 16, accessing the competition phase.
The following activities are:
• Evaluation of the Business Plan candidates and selection of a short list of the best proposals in the race (from 17 to 27 September)
• Boot Camp dedicated to the only finalists (from 03 to 07 October)
• in the course of the regional final, scheduled on 13 October, pitch session of selected projects and presentation of ideas in competition with oral exposure supported by infographics, of the candidate projects
• pitch evaluation and, to follow, proclaim and reward the winners at the end of the final.
The 4 winners of the Start Cup Puglia 2022 and the regional winner of the "Green and Blue climate change" award will be entitled to the PNI – National Innovation Award – scheduled between late November and early December 2022 in L’Aquila.
A POW OF HISTORY
From 2008 to 2021 (14 annual editions), they participated in the competition 529 innovative business plans; among them the Juries have identified altogether 52 winners, of which 46 have then constituted their enterprise in Puglia.
Starting from the 2010 edition, an accompaniment program was introduced to participants with the aim of supporting them in the path from the definition of the business idea to the preparation of the Business Plan. Overall, there were 75 collective accompaniment sessions and 145 individual, with the total participation of 544 members of the entrepreneurial team.
START CUP PUGLIA AND PNI
In 2012, the Puglia Region and ARTI hosted and organized the National Innovation Award.
Since 2010, several winners of the Start Cup Puglia have qualified among the top 10 finalists.
In 2015 NEW GLUTEN WORLD, spin-off of the University of Foggia was the absolute winner of the PNI.
In 2014 DIPTERA won the 2014 PNI in the category Agrifood-Cleantech.
In 2016 Robot4Children, the absolute winner of Start Cup Puglia 2016, as well as for the Life Science category, received the special mention "Social enterprise in optical of equal opportunities".
In 2018 Adam’s Hand, the absolute winner of Start Cup Puglia 2018, won the special "G-Factor" award of the Golinelli Foundation in Bologna.
In 2019 Maxwell 2020, third in the Start Cup Puglia 2019, won the first prize for the IREN Cleantech&Energy category. Leb s.r.l. (Nail Solutions), second ranked at Start Cup Puglia 2019, won the special prize "Boost Heros".
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