Together with Rifò and Ener2crowd, Blue Eco Line was named by the jury of Estra, Nana Bianca and Startup Italia among the most innovative and digital startups in the digital&energy field.
Prato, 29 December '21 – “E-qube Startup&idea Challenge” is the startup call promoted by Estra, in collaboration with Nana Bianca and StartupItalia. Around 170 startups took part in the challenge, all operating in the digital&energy field. They were then assessed by a panel of experts, leading to the nomination of just 3 winners:
in first place, Rifò (https://rifo-lab.com/): a Tuscan startup based in Prato, aiming at the sustainable management of the overproduction and overconsumption of clothing, through the recovery of fabric scraps and their subsequent transformation into new garments.
in second place, Blue Eco Line.
third, Ener2Crowd: (https://www.ener2crowd.com/it/home) based in Milan, active in promoting sustainable investments. It presented the first Italian energy lending crowdfunding platform.
The prize? An overall grant of 60,000 euros and access to a 16-week acceleration programme. The Nana Bianca acceleration team and the Estra Innovation team will follow an Open Innovation path alongside the winning startups, aiming to identify services of common interest.
We report here the words of the President of StartupItalia, Salvatore Amato: “The selected companies stand out in the Italian landscape for innovation in concrete ESG solutions. They are also a virtuous example of resilience, since over recent months they have all achieved very significant results and further developments.”
In light of President Amato's words, it is worth dwelling on the origin of the projects that joined the call: 72% come from Italy, in particular from Lombardy (26%), Tuscany (16%), Lazio (15%) and Emilia Romagna (10%). The rest come from the rest of Europe.
The project by Estra, Nana Bianca and StartupItalia aims to promote the development of the Italian fabric from an open innovation perspective, making the winning projects true participants in change. After all, the digital transformation we are all experiencing today demands new technological and eco-friendly solutions.