Announced the five winners of the 2022 edition of UniCredit Start Lab, Unicredit's business platform aimed at the best Italian startups and innovative SMEs. The initiative, now in its ninth edition, has in recent years screened the initiatives and business ideas of over 7,000 Italian companies, supporting more than 500 of them. This year, 700 applications were collected, from the five sectors covered by the call: Life Science, Clean Tech & Industrial, Innovative Made in Italy, Digital, Impact Innovation. A jury of experts and representatives of leading companies in these sectors analysed all the applications to produce the final short list.

This year, 20% of the candidate startups are led by women and, in general, the presence of women has increased compared to previous editions: 22 of the 52 best startups selected to participate in Start Lab have 42% women in their management team and in 31% of cases at least one female founder.

The top five received a support from UniCredit of € 10,000 while all 52 selected companies will have access to a series of professional services and opportunities offered by the UniCredit Start Lab business platform. They will be able to participate in meetings with corporate clients of the banking group, with whom they will evaluate possible partnerships, or get in touch with potential investors, both Italian and international.

The teams' skills will be enhanced through high-level management training, thematic workshops and the UniCredit Start Lab Startup Academy. In addition, thanks to a customised mentorship programme with Unicredit's network of professionals, consultants, entrepreneurs and partners, periodic comparisons will be made on the strategies to be implemented and to measure the company's growth, which will also be supported by the assistance of a UniCredit personal manager.

Francesca Perrone, head of UniCredit Start Lab, said: "The Italian innovation ecosystem is going through an extraordinary moment, with 2021 closing with exceptional numbers: as many as 16,000 innovative startups and SMEs, up 17% compared to 2020, and more than € 1.4 billion invested in innovative startups, double the previous year's figure and the highest ever in Italy. This is a dynamic context in which with UniCredit Start Lab, thanks to our pioneering commitment, we have become over the years a reference partner with a market share of around 18% of Italian startups and innovative SMEs which allows us to operate in a targeted manner to offer growth opportunities for young companies that want to develop and consolidate".

Category Impact Innovation

Algor Education (Turin)

This innovative startup, incubated at I3P, operates in the edtech sector and develops social impact solutions. Algor has created an online learning platform based on concept maps, able to offer targeted support in cases of dyslexia or other learning disorders. Artificial intelligence makes learning and inclusion possible.

Category Life Science

Moveo (Padua)

This startup has created Exoband, a wearable device that is not powered by batteries or motors, which can be used to facilitate movement and walking in people with reduced mobility. Exoband is a brace consisting of a belt and two leg loops, connected by a mechanism that stores the energy generated in the first phase of the gait cycle and returns it in the second phase, helping to improve walking function.

Category Clean Tech & Industrial

Nano-Tech (Ascoli Piceno)

Startup that has developed a patented technology that can lead to a homogeneous dispersion of nano-particles within polymers, forming the basis of stronger, lighter and heat-resistant materials that can be used in various industrial sectors. Nano-Tech's goal is industrial and social progress through the creation of smarter, greener and more resistant materials that can guarantee a better future.

Category Innovative Made in Italy

Macai (Milan)

A next-generation grocery retail project based on the delivery of everyday products in less than an hour from its proximity warehouses. Born in May 2021 in Milan, this startup of food lovers aims to revolutionise the grocery world as we know it today.

Category Digital

Wallife (Rome)

Startup that proposes insurance coverage to protect an individual's digital identity, biometric and genetic data. Wallife raised $4.8 million in its first funding round and its innovative proposal covers three areas of research: Biometrics, Genetics, and Biohacking. Thanks to its research, this startup proposes life insurance that offers protection against risks arising from technological innovation and scientific progress in these three areas.