Italian Innovation Day 2017
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The second edition of the Italian Innovation Day had 166 attendees, up 27% from last year, of which 20% were investors and financial institutions, while around 70% were corporations interested in the new technologies, business models and products proposed by Italian startups.
This year ICT was the main theme, applied to a great variety of fields, from the medical sector to marketing, tourism, energy, food & beverage and social innovation. A list of the startups and their pitches can be found below. The participation was particularly big from the insurance and telecommunications sectors, as well as corporations interested in open innovation and introduction of services for visually and auditorily impaired people. More in detail, the event attracted public institutions (Business Development Center Tokyo, Fukuoka City, JETRO, etc.), big corporations (a.hartrodt Japan Co. Ltd., Dentsu Isobar, Hitachi Solutions, JSR Corporation, KDDI, LINE, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mori Building, NEC Solution Innovators, Nikon, Nokia Solutions & Networks, NTT Docomo, Schenker Seino, Softbank, Sojitz Machinery Corporation, STMicroelectronics, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo, |
just to mention a few), local distributors and marketing agencies, investors, financial institutions (AXA, Daiichi Life Insurance, Japan Post Insurance, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, Mizuho Bank, Nippon Life Insurance, NN Life Insurance, Rakuten Securities, Sony Financial Holdings, etc.), media (Nikkan Kogyo, Nikkei, Yomiuri Shimbun, Italian economics and finance newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore and its radio channel Radio24, etc.) and local universities (Keio University, Osaka Prefecture University, Rikkyo University).
In particular, among local distributors and marketing agencies, we would like to mention Massive R&D, which has established a partnership with DIS-Design italian Shoes, one of the startups pitching at the previous edition of the Italian Innovation Day. Again, the alliance with strategic partners such as NTT Data Open Innovation Forum, Masaru Ikeda (The Bridge) and Emil Abirascid (Startup Business), as well as the collaboration with the FDI Helpdesk of the Trade Promotion Section of the Embassy of Italy proved to be very important not only to bring a high quality audience, but also to select some of the best Italian startups that could match Japanese existing and potential demand for innovation. |
Guest Speakers
Keynote speakers Emil Abirascid and Masaru Ikeda respectively introduced Italian and Japanese startup ecosystems, especially focusing on the phenomenon of Italian scaleups and the opportunities for European startups in Japan.
Special guest speakers Ritsuko Hotta, General Manger of YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP Japan, and Michele Guarnieri, Co-founder and Director of HiBot Corporation. Guest speaker Luca Escoffier, Project Manager at the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, talked about IP tools and tips for EU startups interested in entering the Japanese market. |
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Pitching StartupsPitch decks can be downloaded from the links below.
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A description of the startups in Japanese is available at this link. Investors and corporations interested in follow-ups on one or more startups can either contact them directly or send their inquiries to the FDI Helpdesk of the Trade Promotion Section, Embassy of Italy in Japan (fdi.tokyo@ice.it).
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Networking and MeetingsMore than 40 one-on-one meetings were organized during the event and in the following days, as corporations and VCs found startups' innovative ideas worth being considered for business partnership and investment.
During the networking session, event attendees were given the possibility to deepen their understanding of the technologies, services and products offered by Italian startups. A media corner was also available for journalists to interview startups, guest speakers and event attendees. |
Special media contents
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Note about NTT Data, co-organizer of the Italian Innovation Day 2017
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Finally, a particular mention goes to the Local to Local "Amori x Italy" Project, presented by NTT Data in the closing session.
An initiative that gives IT a new role as an instrument for community revitalization and promotion of cultural and commercial exchanges between distant local realities. |
Special thanks to NTT Data Open Innovation Forum and NTT Docomo Ventures for sponsoring and supporting the second edition of the Italian Innovation Day.
For information about NTT Data Open Innovation Forum and their Global Contest, please visit this website. |
Hope to see you again next year!
Press
Organizers
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