Identifying products, services, and new business activities that focus on the sustainable use of the sea as well as its liveability, accessibility, and usability for all: it is with this goal in mind that I I3P, the Innovative Companies Incubator of the Politecnico di Torino, is collaborating with the Genoa City, Job Centre and Compagnia di San Paolo in the Call For Innovation - Sport in the Blue Economy, a new public call for start-ups and SMEs from all over Italy that develop innovative solutions in the field of marine sustainability and water sports. 

The initiative is part of the project "Towards The Ocean Race. Innovation, Sustainability, Enterprise", a pathway that aims to use the global reach of The Ocean Race, due to arrive in Genoa in 2023, as a lever of innovation to generate products, services and new business activities useful to foster the ecological and digital transition, according to the criteria and objectives of the blue economy.

Candidate projects that pass the selection will have the opportunity to access the support programme envisaged by the initiative, which includes a grant from € 40,000 to € 200,000 200.000 euro, a entrepreneurial accompaniment service by I3P, and an accompaniment and communication support service by the Genoa Blue District to participate in theInnovation Village, which will be set up in June 2023 on the occasion of the final leg of The Ocean Race.

There are three areas of particular interest in the search for proposals: 

1. solutions that enhance the resources of the coast and the sea, favouring accessibility to spaces, safety, equal opportunities, interactivity, measurement of sports and recreational performance, care of the context and data collection and analysis;
2. innovative and sustainable materials that can be used in boating and circular economy solutions in the manufacture of nautical and water sports equipment;
3. field of energy field, with a focus on green propulsion systems and the production or storage of renewable electrical energy to help reduce environmental impact.

Giuseppe Scellato, President of I3P, said: "This new joint initiative represents a unique opportunity to bring to life processes, products and services with a high innovative value in the field of protecting the sea, an increasingly fundamental issue also at international level. The collaboration with the Genoa Municipality, Job Centre and Compagnia di San Paolo gives us the opportunity to actively participate in an entrepreneurial development path focused on environmental sustainability, renewable energies, optimal use of coastal resources, and new technologies applied to the boating and water sports sectors. Our aim is to select, accompany and promote the most promising projects proposed by innovative start-ups and SMEs from all over Italy, making available the method and know-how we have developed in over 20 years of activity in the field of innovative entrepreneurship".

All SMEs and innovative startups that are already established and registered in the business register of an Italian Chamber of Commerce can participate in the call. Each company may participate individually and by means of a single application; projects that already have a validated prototype, that are in a 'ready to market' state or that are already on the market are eligible.

The call for project proposals will remain open until Sunday 4 September 2022 on the initiative's official webpage.

(Source: I3P Press Release)