The Call for the 2026 Startup Competition is open.

Timeline:

• first phase closure: coming soon

• second phase closure: coming soon

• Final: June 17-19, 2026

The organizers reserve the right to extend the deadline. To apply, it will be necessary to fill out the form on the initiative's page and all required attachments.

The promoting body of the initiative is the company Search On Media Group S.r.l., Registered and Operational Headquarters: Via Ugo Bassi, 7 - 40121 Bologna, VAT no. 02418200800 - Share capital €10,000 Tel: 051 09 51 294 - Email: info@wemakefuture.it.

The initiative aims to encourage entrepreneurship by supporting the most innovative projects. The call is intended for startups and scaleups that have developed or intend to develop an innovative entrepreneurial project.

To participate in the call, it is necessary to fill out the specific form which consists of four sections:

• THE APPLICANT AND THE TEAM

• THE COMPANY

• THE PROJECT AND THE CHALLENGES OF THE FUTURE

• THE DOCUMENTATION

Within the third step of the form, the challenges of the future are indicated, which each startup is called to select as the challenge to be addressed with its innovative project.

For each of the 12 challenges of the future, possible reference areas and technologies are indicated purely for exemplary purposes (non-exhaustive list):

• Future of Cities & Communities - Smart City, Smart Community, IOT, Mobility, Energy prosumer market, Energy storage, efficiency & management, Renewables & alternative fuels, Platform economy, Big Data & Analytics, Environmental sensors, Digital twins, Smart home & Buildings

• Future of Health - Digital health, Well being, Telemedicine, Healthcare supply, Patient Engagement, Medical devices, Fitness apps, Remote monitoring, Biotech, Aging & Lo, Omics

• Future of work - New ways of working, Digital HR, Change management, Diversity & inclusion, Intranet, Intrapeneurship, Meta* for work, Tools for digital nomads, Design & Project/Task management, Voice&Video, Data protection

• Future of Culture & Travel - Artificial Intelligence for the tourism sector, Mobile Apps, QR Codes, IOT & Big Data, Augmented Reality, Smart luggage, Sharing & rentals, Booking & search, Revenue Management, Channel managers

• Future of Food & Agriculture - Climate smart agriculture, Smart or vertical farming, Smart Aquaculture, Autonomous Vehicles & Drones, Precision farming, Optimization of supply chain, Big Data & Analytics, 3D food printing, Ingredient innovation, Cell-based nutrition, Delivery

• Future of Marketing - Advertising & Promotion, Content&Experience, Social&Relationships, Commerce&sales, Data, Management, Display& Programmatic Advertising, Search&Social Advertising, Content Advertising, Video Advertising, PR, Proximity Marketing, Sales automation, Affiliate marketing, Ecommerce Platforms e Carts, iPaaS, Cloud management, Vendor Analysis, Business Intelligence& Data Science

• Future of Learning & Education - EdTech, AR, VR, AI, Robotics, Learning Management Systems, Learning analytics, Classroom engagement, Online to Offline, Learn from anywhere

• Future of Media & Entertainment - Subscription on-demand, Connected home, AI, Curated Content, Streaming, Gesture control, VR/AR/XR, Infotainment, 4K, Contextual media, video intelligence, Consumer engagement via new medium

• Future of Retail & Customer Experience - Sustainable Materials & Production, Digital Marketing, Customer Engagement, Efficiency of Supply Chain, Phygital Stores, SaaS marketplaces, In store marketing & analytics, Cashierless checkout, Bots & chatbots, Fraud prevention solutions, Last mile delivery, Guest wi-fi

• Future of Sports & Events - Tech for events, eSports, Digital fitness, Fan engagement, Player engagement, Data for events, Team& Coach success, Ticketing, Broadcasting & Streaming)

• Future of Finance & Insurance - Payments, Financial inclusion, Buy Now Pay Later, Blockchain & Crypto-currencies, Identity & Authentication, Insurtech, Cybersecurity, NFT, Complementary currencies, Crowdfunding, POS, Lending, Online banking, Real Estate & mortgage

• Future of planet earth - Climate Change & Decarbonization, Space tech - downstream; Water consumption and sanitation, Waste to resource, Reuse of products, IOT based & AI powered smart waste management, Bio based materials, Remanufacturing, Traceability, Bees preservation, Circular economy

Regarding the Pitch, it is necessary to follow the guidelines

The 6 finalist startups will be selected and the announcement will be made pre-event. The finalists will present their project on the WMF Mainstage through a 3-minute pitch.

Following the presentation, the jury will have the opportunity to ask questions to the finalist teams in the following minutes. The winning startup will be determined through the vote of the participants in the hall, who will express their preference via an online voting system available on the event's web app, wmf.ibrida.io.

Participants must express their vote based on the following parameters:

• Team skills, industry knowledge, project feasibility;

• Development stage of the product/service;

• Degree of innovation and its defensibility;

• Competitive context and positioning;

• Responsiveness to and size of market and customer needs;

• Business potential of the idea

• The project's impact on the challenges of the future

The Startup Competition finalists will be evaluated by a technical jury of experts and a jury made up of the public, each of which will assign one of the prizes offered by the Startup Competition partners.

The remaining prizes will be assigned by the partners themselves, at their discretion, according to the following evaluation criteria:

• Clarity of the pitch presentation;

• Team skills, industry knowledge, project feasibility;

• Development stage of the product/service;

• Degree of innovation and its defensibility;

• Competitive context and positioning;

• Responsiveness to and size of market and customer needs;

• Business potential of the idea

• Completeness of the submitted documentation

• The project's impact on the challenges of the future.

The awarding of the prize represents the recognition of personal merit or in any case a title of encouragement in the interest of the community. The winners will receive a prize to be provided in digital marketing and project compliance consulting products/services. The prize is in no case convertible into cash. The value of the prizes corresponds to services offered by the initiative's Partners. No liability may be attributed to the promoter in relation to the provision of prizes by the aforementioned partners.

The promoter reserves the right to contact the winners and any third parties indicated by means of the addresses in its possession.

In accordance with Article 6 of D.P.R. 430/01 “Regulation concerning the organic revision of the discipline of prize competitions and prize-winning operations, as well as local prize events pursuant to art. 19, paragraph 4, of law 27 December 1997, no. 449,” this initiative is not considered a prize competition and/or prize-winning operation as it is organized for the presentation of projects or studies in a commercial or industrial context, in which the awarding of the prize to the author represents the recognition of personal merit or in any case a title of encouragement in the interest of the community.

Furthermore, no liability may be attributed to the promoter in relation to the conduct of the initiative and/or the awarding of the prizes. In any case, the participant undertakes to hold the promoter harmless and indemnified from any and all prejudicial consequences, costs, damages - including sanctions from competent authorities - that may arise for or be asserted against the promoter as a result of their actions or violation of the Regulations. If, for any reason, the initiative cannot be carried out as planned, the promoter reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or cancel the initiative, without any liability arising for the promoter, and without any prior notice. For the purpose of participating in the initiative, it is not necessary to purchase and/or sell any products marketed by the promoter and/or related to WMF. Participation in the initiative is free of charge.

The initiative and these regulations are governed by Italian law.

Bologna, June 30, 2025