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Lombardy once again is the region with the highest number of members. The largest number of startup are candidate from the Digital sector.

UniCredit Start Lab, the acceleration program promoted by UniCredit and dedicated to the most innovative startups and SMEs, has continued  in 2018 and reached its fifth edition.

632 applications were received at the end of a road-show that touched more than 20 stages throughout Italy, allowing to exceed 4,100 business plans received from UniCredit starting from the launch of the initiative in February 2014. These numbers are the result of an increasingly intense collaboration with over 150 stakeholders including incubators, accelerators, universities, trade associations and science parks.

This year, 461 newly established companies together with 171 innovative business ideas have access to the final selection of the best projects in the 4 program categories: Clean Tech, Digital, Innovative Made in Italy and Life Science.

The selection of the best business ideas will be completed by the summer and will be divided into two phases: the first will be carried out by a dedicated team of the Bank, the second by four specialized committees composed of qualified experts of the four different sectors.

All startups that will exceed the two levels of selection will benefit from mentoring activities, network development, advanced managerial training thanks to the Startup Academy and ad hoc banking services. The winning startup in each of the four categories in the committees' opinion will also receive a grant of 10,000€.

Lombardy, with 128 nominations, confirms once again this year the most prolific region in terms of new business ideas, followed by Veneto (67 applications) and Sicily (54).

49% of the participants come from the Digital sector, 12% refers to Life Sciences (medicine, biomedical, assistive technologies) and 10% to Clean Tech, with projects ranging from renewable energy to environmental sustainability. The remaining 29% of startups aimed at enhancing the distinctive excellence of the Made in Italy (ideas mainly related to agrifood, fashion, design and tourism).

In terms of age, 43% of registered entrepreneurs are aged between 24 and 35. 23% of startuppers have more than 45 years, a figure that has been steadily increasing over the last few years as a sign that creativity and innovation continue to develop thanks to the work experience acquired in the field. The northern regions are confirmed as those with the highest average proponents. From the central Italian regions come younger startuppers, with 70% of the competitors not reaching 40 years of age. Slightly decreasing the figure that sees at 17% the percentage of startup candidates to the program by a woman.