CDP Venture Capital is the leader of the Maritime Ventures initiative, which brings together investors, companies, and institutions such as the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Municipality of Genoa, Friulia, the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation, Confindustria Genova, Intesa Sanpaolo, Bridgemaker, Cariplo Factory, Fincantieri, and PSA Italy. During the event, Maritime Ventures presented the results of its first months of activity, providing an initial analysis of the current state of the maritime supply chain and highlighting the main digitalization needs. This analysis is the basis for developing the first entrepreneurial ideas, which will take shape through new startups by next summer.

Trieste, October 9, 2024 – The Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia hosted the presentation of Maritime Ventures, the venture building project entirely dedicated to the naval and port-logistics supply chains. The project was launched on the initiative of CDP Venture Capital, which, in agreement with the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, supported the establishment of a special purpose vehicle entirely dedicated to the development and launch of new entrepreneurial initiatives that will develop products and services for the digitalization and innovation of SMEs operating in the naval and port-logistics supply chains.

The goal of Maritime Ventures is to create 10 new companies over the next three years to meet the growing digital transformation needs of Italian SMEs developing components and services in the shipbuilding, pleasure boating, cruise, and port logistics sectors. These fledgling companies will receive subsequent equity investments of approximately €30 million from CDP Venture Capital's Boost Innovation Fund, which could generate additionality in the market, bringing total investments to approximately €70 million.

Maritime Ventures will operate from two permanent offices: one in Trieste, in the space provided by the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, and the other in Genoa, in the premises of the Genova Blue District, thanks to the support of the Municipality of Genoa.

Maritime Ventures is the result of an initiative by CDP Venture Capital and involves leading investors: the German venture builder Bridgemaker and the open innovation hub Cariplo Factory, which will operate as a joint venture managing the company's operations, structured into the Market Assessment, Concept Development, and MVP testing phases, preparatory to the launch of startups; the world leader in shipbuilding Fincantieri; and PSA Italy, which operates in Italy with three container terminals that handle 25% of Italy's imports and exports; the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, the largest Italian bank and among the leading in Europe, which invested in the project through the Sei Fund; Sviluppo Ecosistemi Innovativi of Neva Sgr, the Group's venture capital company; the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation, which supports the development of the Genoa and Liguria regions; and Friulia, the financial company of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, which supports regional development. Confindustria Genova is an institutional partner of Maritime Ventures.

The Intesa Sanpaolo Group will also contribute through the consultancy of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, a company dedicated to the promotion and development of innovation—which controls Neva Sgr—and will support the interaction between project management and the ecosystem of SMEs belonging to the supply chains involved.

At the Trieste event, Maritime Ventures presented its Venture Blueprint analysis, the result of its first months of activity and the outcome of over 45 interviews with some of the most important players in the sector. The aim of this analysis is to identify the main digitalization needs and priorities of companies active in the supply chain. Six preliminary areas emerged, representing the initial scope of analysis within which to evaluate the opportunities for the first entrepreneurial initiatives that will be established:

Enable greater coordination among stakeholders in the logistics and port ecosystem;

1. Overcome the challenges for SMEs in mastering and managing evolving sustainability
   regulations;
   
   

2. Make work organization increasingly digital;
   
   

3. Support SMEs in navigating and implementing complex laws and regulations;
   
   

4. Improve communication between various stakeholders with a more digital approach;
   
   

5. Achieve optimizations enabled by greater traceability in materials management for
   maintenance purposes and during construction phases.
   
   

The event opened with a message from Adolfo Urso, Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy, and a greeting from Massimiliano Fedriga, President of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The proceedings continued with presentations by Federica Seganti, President and CEO of Friulia; Agostino Scornajenchi, CEO and General Manager of CDP Venture Capital; Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Fincantieri; and Sergio Emidio Bini, Regional Councilor for Productive Activities and Tourism. They explained the reasons for their involvement in the initiative and highlighted the significant synergies with the region.

Enrico Noseda, CEO of Maritime Ventures and Chief Innovation Advisor of Cariplo Factory, presented the Venture Blueprinting analysis. This was followed by a roundtable discussion "From Market Needs to Development Opportunities: The Digital Transition of the Maritime Supply Chain," featuring Claudio Cisilino, Head of Operations, Corporate Strategy, and Innovation at Fincantieri; Stefano Cangelosi, Head of Business Process Management at PSA Italy; Fulvio Bersanetti, Program Officer at Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo; Alessandro Balboni, Head of Innovation Business Development at Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center; and Riccardo Porro, Board Member of BC Ventures (the joint venture between Cariplo Factory and Bridgemaker) and Chief Operating Officer of Cariplo Factory. The day's program concluded with a presentation by Lorenzo Franchini, Senior Partner and Head of the Boost Innovation Fund at CDP Venture Capital.

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Maritime Ventures is an initiative promoted by CDP Venture Capital together with leading financial, industrial, and institutional partners within the Italian innovation ecosystem. Its mission is to accelerate the digital transformation of the maritime and port-logistics sectors by creating 10 new companies over three years, targeting total investments of approximately €70 million.