Meet the WMF traveling project, bound to bring the global innovation ecosystem together.

Cultivating a global innovation ecosystem is a cornerstone goal of WMF, which, with the annual Festival alone, brings the best of global leading innovation players to Rimini every year. One of the main tools WMF harnesses to grow and nurture an international innovation ecosystem is the International Roadshow - a traveling project aimed at consolidating a global network of innovation, encouraging sustainable entrepreneurship, and accelerating the internationalization of the "made in Italy", which has involved to date 29 Countries and 5 continents.

Slightly more than a year ago, the International Roadshow landed in Thessaloniki, Greece for the first time, marking the very first stop of the itinerary.

This year's event in Thessaloniki wants to celebrate this first round of the International Roadshow and aims at reinforcingthe presence of the Greek tech ecosystem into the WMF global network of tech innovators.

The event will take place in Thessaloniki's industrial district on December 17, at CISCO's Digital Transformation and Digital Skills Center, and will be hosting educational speeches, networking moments between startups, investors, and a pitch competition in which 15 Greek startups will challenge each other and will be evaluated by a jury including Leonidas Bakouras (General Manager EDA THESSALONIKI-THESSALIA S.A) and Kyriakos Loufakis.

WMF will award the top three finalists, providing the first-place winner with a desk within the WMF2023 Startup District, access to networking activities with investors and companies, and the opportunity to pitch on the WMF Startup Stage, while the second runner-up will receive a desk at WMF2023 and access to networking activities with investors, and the third finalist will be allowed access to networking activities with companies and investors.

Participants at the Thessaloniki stop will also include Hon. Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission, European Commissioner and Coordinator of the Commission on Immigration and Asylum, Nikos Lambrogeorgios (CISCO Hellas), and Konstantinos Vaitsas (Deloitte Startup Program).

The International Roadshow: a roundup of the latest stops.

One of WMF's commitments is to contribute to generating a virtuous exchange flow between different innovation ecosystems, helping to build a better, more equal future for all through innovation, and accelerating processes with specifically designed activities towards networking and scouting for the best local startups in each Country.

For a better context, let's recap the latest stops of the International Roadshow, recounting what happened these past weeks in the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Austria, Spain, and Malta.

Thanks to the partnership with the leading tech event "Disraptors", the International Roadshow reached Prague on October 11, where it brought a delegation of the two startups winners of the WMF's 2022 Startup Competition, Golee and Aerariumchain. The startups had the opportunity to be present in the exhibition space and take part in a pitch competition whose first prize was the chance to fly to San Francisco, USA, to take part in the Startup World Cup.

The following stop in the Czech Republic consolidated the WMF's network with local investors and entrepreneurs, some of whom will be part of the next edition of the Festival.

Next in line: Berlin, on October 13 and 14, where WMF participated in institutional meetings with the faculty of the Technical University of Berlin and the Ministry of Innovation.

The tour continued to Wroclaw, Poland, where meetings between investors and startups were promoted during the "Made in Wro" partner event. During this occasion, WMF presented Nimrod, a startup selected during the 2022 edition, which through the development of bone-conduction earphones, succeeded at enabling simultaneous translations of 36 languages using AI.

On October 20 and 21, at the "Wolves Summit" in Vienna, WMF awarded circuitmess.com, the winning startup of the local competition, offering it a desk in the WMF2023 Startup District, the opportunity to pitch its project on the Startup Stage, and access to networking moments with investors and realities present at the Festival.

During the Valencia stop, on October 24-26, WMF sealed a partnership with the Startup Valencia network, organizer of the Valencia Digital Summit. WMF brought seven startups, selected during the Festival, which had the opportunity to exhibit and present their entrepreneurial project.

Finally, in Malta, on November 16-18, the WMF, thanks to its partnership with the SIGMA event and AIBC Malta, was among the judges at the GAMEFI competition, where six gaming startups challenged each other.

As for every project carried out by WMF during the year, the International Roadshow is designed to be a "road to WMF": a constant work rooted in connection and virtuous exchange, with the long-term goal of harnessing innovation and leading-edge technology to tackle global challenges and focus on collective, sustainable growth.

The journey is just beginning, that of the WMF International Roadshow. It will gather all the best innovation realities encountered abroad at the next WMF, scheduled in Rimini on June 15, 16, and 17, 2023.

We highly suggest you be there, to witness the future happening.