Since 2021, Invitalia has organised an annual 'Japanese multinationals meet Italian startups' event, a matchmaking opportunity between Japanese investors and Italian startups selected from those financed by Invitalia.
The 2022 event, which was the result of cooperation with the Italy-Japan Foundation and the Embassy of Japan in Italy, took place online on 15 December.
After speeches by Umberto Vattani, President of the Italy-Japan Foundation, Federica Serra, Head of Institutional Affairs at Invitalia, and Michiko Watanabe, Economic Attaché at the Embassy of Japan, B2B meetings were held between Italian startups and Japanese multinationals.
The former may in fact constitute valid technological partners for Japanese companies, which in turn are interested in collaboration opportunities on Italian soil. The sectors chosen for the 2022 edition were ecological transition/greentech, agrifood tech, and new materials.
Invitalia supports the creation of innovative start-ups through the ‘Smart&Start Italia’ incentive and supports local ecosystems, encouraging the adoption of the open innovation approach between innovative Italian companies and international players.
Italy has always been an attractive and innovative system for Japanese investors, especially in high-tech sectors: Daikin, Nippon Gases, NTT Data, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Toray Industries, Hitachi, and Yanmar are just some of the multinationals that have successfully settled in our country.