15 · 16 · 17 JUNE 2023 / RIMINI EXPO CENTRE & ONLINE
Apply for 2023
Innovation and entrepreneurship are driving forces of economic growth and social development in today's modern society.
The WMF, for the tenth year in a row, combines innovation and entrepreneurship, in one of the most important south european initiative to support innovative ideas development and business creation: the WMF Startup Competition.
Aware of the key role of innovation in the development of a sustainable and inclusive future, WMF has, in fact, been creating growth opportunities for startups for over 10 years and has been working to spread an innovative entrepreneurial culture, fostering the development of an ecosystem of innovation - the Innovation Valley - also capable of generating a flow of opportunities between Italy and the world.
If you want to compete and take the opportunity to show your startup to the international world of innovation, you can now apply to the 2023 edition.
Candidates will have the unique opportunity to increase visibility and present their projects in front of 36,000 attendees, including some of the most recognized corporation executives, investors, sector experts and innovation ecosystem stakeholders, that can support the implementation and the development of their business ideas.
6 startups will join the final, while other 36 startups will be selected to enter the Startup Stage and thus present their idea to the public and to the representatives of major incubators and accelerators.
Among the winners of the previous editions are TOMMI, Friendz, JustKnock, FitPrime, Ventur, PatchAI, Yape, Isaac, lightScience and Flowpay, Recornea, MyLeg as well as Golee and AerariumChain the winning projects of the 2022 Startup Competition. The overall value of the prizes offered was over 3.3 million euros, for a total of more than 4,300 startup candidates during the previous editions.
The call for the Startup Competition 2023 is open. You can apply by filling the form below.
The call is dedicated to startups and businesses - made up of individuals or teams - with innovative projects or ideas. Once the call is closed, and the canidates valuated, the Festival's Innovation Team will announce the 6 startup finalists that will have the opportunity to present their pitch to the jury and the attendees at WMF2023 in Rimini Expo Centre and Online from june 15th to 17th. Each team will have 3 minutes to present the key elements of their idea. The jury will then have another 2 minutes to ask further questions. Voting and announcing the winning startups will follow, at the end.
The WMF encourages and supports the development of innovative entrepreneurial projects also capable of producing a positive influence on the environment and society.
For this reason, the WMF Startup Competition gives the opportunities to the applying startups to indicate specific challenges of the future that they are preparing to tackle in an innovative way:
During the application, startups can also indicate if and in what measure they adhere to the ESG policies (Environmental, Social, Governance) as well as the impact generated by their innovative project on 1 ore many of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals indicated by the UN 2030 Agenda.
The ‘elevator pitch’ is a brief presentation where you describe your business venture in a nutshell. A solid elevator pitch needs to convey the business idea in a concise manner, so as to attract the audience's attention quickly.
Apply now to present your startup at the 2023 edition of WMF - We Make Future
Serial entrepreneur - StarBoost
Co-founder & General Partner - EUREKA! Venture
Head of Communication and Digital Marketing - PoliHub
Chief Tecnology Officer - Oplon
General Manager - Incubatore Campano
Chief Innovation Officer - Engineering
Investment Manager - Fondazione Social Venture GDA
Project manager and CEO - 012Factory
Serial Entrepreneur & Investor - Exelab
Chief International Business Development - Able Tech
CEO - SerenDPT - H3
ESG Report Referent - BIZPLACE
ESA
Partner and Board Member - NextUp
CEO - Grownnectia
Vice CEO PBZ - Intesa Sanpaolo group | Vice president - Italian Croatian chamber of
commerce
Direttore - Innovup
Startup Program Leader - OVHcloud
Program Analyst & Operations - B4I Bocconi for Innovation
Program Manager - G-Factor , Fondazione Golinelli
Founder - D-Group
Dock3 - The Startup Lab
Partner e investment board - A11 Venture
Strategic and financial advisor - Volano Group
Service Manager - FoolFarm
Deal Flow Manager - BIZPLACE
Innovation and Start up Advisor - Le Village
Investment Manager - United Ventures
Business Angel - A4W
President & Coordinator - Business Angels Network "BAN Firenze"
Operations Manager Hubble Acceleration Program - Nana Bianca
Responsabile dell’Unità Finanza per l'innovazione - ART-ER
Head of Innovation - Confindustria Emilia Area Centro
Senior Analyst - Indaco Venture Partners
Managing Partner & Founder - Gellify
Business Consultant - I3P
Incubator Manager ​​​​​​- LazioInnova
Entrepreneur & Strategy Consultant - Guanxi
Founder & Ceo - The Hive CoWorking & Incubator
VP - AlmaVicoo | Head of Innovation and Communication - Legacoop Bologna
Business finance consultant - INTERFINANCE
Business Angel - A4W
CEO - Enrtrepreniston
Senior Deal Flow Manager - LVENTURE
Senior investment analyst - IAG
Venture Analyst - Plug And Play
Portofolio Manager - B-heroes
CEO - Dynamo
Business Analyst & Startup Scouting - I3P
General Manager - RDS
Head of Partners - HubSpot Italy
Managing Partner - Startup Wise Guys Italy
Innovation Broker - Almacube
Co-Founder & General Manager - CreationDose
Direttore - Fondazione Rei , Tech Up Accelerator
Project Manager of Football Data Analyst course - Wylab
Director - Zanichelli Venture
AI Ecosystem Manager Φ-lab - ESA
Digital PR Manager - Digital Coach
Founder and Managing Director - Digital Magics
Consigliere e responsabile dell'Open Innovation Club - Associazione Roma Startup
General Manager - ANGI
Responsabile Innovazione Startup Mug - Emill Banca Credito Cooperativo
Project Manager - H Farm
Operational Partner - Prana Ventures
Onboarding Manager - Crowdfundme
CEO - Wylab | Program Director - WeSportUp
CEO & CoFounder - Seedble
Vice President - Unicredit Start Lab | Founders* Club
Senior screening committee member - IAG
Operations Manager - Motor Valley Accelerator
Product Sales Specialist Digitalization Italy - CISCO
Founder & CEO - Re2N
Innovation Manager - UnipolSai
Co-Founder e CFO - Seedble
Managing Director - Indaco Venture Partners SGR
Business Developer - Dynamo
Open innovation program manager - Cariplo Factory
Direttore del Comitato Tecnico Scientifico - San Marino Innovation
Ecosystem Marketing Manager - Qonto
Head of TIM open innovation program
The largest Digital Innovation Festival on the Planet
