Rome, 29 July 2024 – CDP Venture Capital is the leader of an ambitious venture building project entirely dedicated to the digital transition of Italian SMEs operating in the nautical and port logistics supply chains.

Through the Boost Innovation Fund, CDP Venture Capital – in agreement with the Ministry for Business and Made in Italy – has promoted the establishment of a special purpose vehicle dedicated to the construction and launch of new business initiatives that will develop products or services for the digitisation and innovation of SMEs operating in the nautical and port logistics supply chains.

With an investment of 8.7 million euros, the objective of the “Nautical and Port Logistics Supply Chains Venture Builder” project is to create 10 new companies over the next three years that will receive subsequent equity investments by CDP Venture Capital's Boost Innovation Fund (the AMC's corporate venture building fund) amounting to about 30 million euros, which will generate an additive effect on the market that will bring total investments to about 70 million euros. The new companies generated will be able to contribute to bridging the process and technology gaps of SMEs developing components and services in the shipbuilding, yachting, cruise and port logistics sectors.

Investors in the venture building project include Bridgemaker, a German venture builder; Cariplo Factory, one of the most important open innovation hubs in Italy, which will operate in joint venture as venture builder partners managing the construction of the new initiatives; Fincantieri, a world leader in shipbuilding; PSA Italy, which has three container terminals in Italy and handles 25% of the country's imports and exports; the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, Italy's largest bank and one of the largest in Europe, through the Sei Fund - Sviluppo ecosistemi innovativi of Neva Sgr, the Group's venture capital company; Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, which supports the development of the Genoa and Liguria area; and Friulia, financial institution of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, which supports local development.

The Intesa Sanpaolo Group will also contribute through the consultancy of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, a company dedicated to the promotion and development of innovation – which controls Neva Sgr – and will support the interaction between project management and the ecosystem of SMEs belonging to the production chains involved.

The Institutional Partners include the Municipality of Genoa, which will host the company's Genoa operations in the spaces of the Genoa Blue District, the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region, which will host the company's Trieste operations in its spaces, and Confindustria Genova.

The Nautical and Port Logistics Venture Builder programme will operate in the two permanent locations of Trieste and Genoa.

"Maritime transport is a key element of the global economy and Italian ports have driven the development of our country for centuries. The maritime economy is made up of a network of small and medium-sized enterprises that today must be able to cope with the profound technological and production transformations that are taking place", remarked Agostino Scornajenchi, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of CDP Venture Capital. "The venture building project for the nautical and port supply chain starts from a system approach based on a strong boost from the Ministry for Business and Made in Italy and reflects the needs expressed by the large industrial groups at the head of the supply chain, in order to support the SMEs that represent its backbone, developing the individual components and ensuring the competitiveness of the entire model”.

 

"The venture building project for the nautical and port sector is one of the most ambitious innovation initiatives, not only in Italy but also at the European level. Launching 10 start-ups in three years is a great challenge, but we are convinced that, thanks to the involvement and contribution of industrial, financial and institutional partners, we will be able to accelerate the competitiveness of the entire sector”, explained Enrico Noseda, Chief Executive Officer of the company created and Chief Innovation Advisor of Cariplo Factory. "The international team we have put together for this project, made up of innovation specialists from Bridgemaker and Cariplo Factory, will operate both in Genoa and Trieste, beginning its work by focusing on the innovation needs of the supply chain and then identifying high-potential solutions to be developed through MVPs (Minimum Viable Products). These prototypes will give rise to the new companies to be brought to the market”.

 

Pierroberto Folgiero, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Fincantieri, commented, "Fincantieri sees in this ambitious programme devised by CDP Venture Capital an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate the digital transition and innovation of SMEs operating in the shipbuilding and port sectors. As leaders in the supply chain, we firmly believe that our role is to connect the dots and make things happen, including by fostering the development of entrepreneurial ideas and innovative solutions, transforming them into businesses that are actively engaged in the market. This initiative will not only fill existing technology gaps, but also represent a decisive step towards a sustainable and highly competitive future for our industry. We thank the Municipality of Genoa, the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region and Friulia for believing in the project”.

 

"Innovation, sustainability and competitiveness: PSA Italy has chosen to be a partner in this project in order to be part of the process of technological acceleration of the port logistics supply chain, which is increasingly necessary as much as it is inevitable", said Roberto Ferrari, Chief Executive Officer of PSA Italy. "This is a project that, thanks to important capital partners such as the Intesa Sanpaolo Group and Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo and the institutional support of Confindustria Genoa and the Municipality of Genoa, will lead to the development of new tools that will give added value not only to our company and its innovation process, but also to the SMEs operating in the port logistics supply chains, contributing to a sustainable and highly competitive future for the entire sector".