If we wanted to coin a new word to define the set of contents, emotions, dialogues, and sharing that took place during the Mediterranean Startup World Cup, it would be ‘Palermondo’ (Palermo + mondo that in Italian means world), where Palermo is the contextual platform, the city at the centre of the Mediterranean that is increasingly dynamic, increasingly international, with a historic centre that pulses with life, showing off like a lady of sophisticated charm, and with the development of new projects, such as the Molo Trapezoidale, bringing new life to areas of the city that were once neglected, and like the cruise terminal that hosted the event, a building stretching out towards the sea to emphasise the direct connection between what the Startup World Cup does and its specificity of being the Mediterranean chapter of the global competition that leads to the winner winning a million-dollar prize. And where the world is the enthusiasm with which speakers, start-ups, and participants from dozens of countries brought their knowledge, their experiences, their successes, and their vision of the future, making the event rich and intense as it unfolded during an autumnal day that wanted to disguise itself as summer, offering sunshine and bright colours.
In this article we had described what the Mediterranean Startup World Cup is, we had told who the people are in the team that has realised the initiative, we had told of the strong ability to attract representatives of the highest value from all the ecosystems not only of the Mediterranean area but of the entire world by Francesco Cracolici who, together with Monica Guizzardi, Aurora Incardona, Federica Pasini and Danilo Mazzara, realised the event that represents a uniqueness in the ecosystem panorama. Startupbusiness was also a media partner of the initiative and contributed to managing some of the content that animated the day, panels with international speakers dedicated to the themes of fintech, sustainability, and the characteristics of the various ecosystems facing the Mare nostrum.
As for all the competitions at the centre of the ideal beacon that scanned the innovation that has blossomed on all shores of the Mediterranean – there were over 400 applications from 50 countries, 34% of which were founded or co-founded by female entrepreneurs – there are the start-ups and in particular those that won : Eoliann: founded in 2022, is the Italian climatetech startup, won the first prize thanks to its innovative platform for climate risk management, which uses artificial intelligence and satellite data. Eoliann will therefore represent the Mediterranean Startup World Cup at the Global Final of the Startup World Cup 2025 in Silicon Valley with a chance to win a million-dollar investment. Roberto Carnicelli, co-founder and CEO of Eoliann, says: “We are extremely proud to represent Italy and the Mediterranean in San Francisco. This recognition reinforces our mission to tackle climate change with advanced technologies. Our goal is to provide governments and companies with concrete tools to predict and manage extreme climate events’. And then Nano-Tech: Italian startup that develops nanotechnology solutions for advanced composite materials, impressed by its impact in the aerospace and automotive sectors and AILA: a Saudi Arabian startup that offers artificial intelligence and automation solutions for key sectors such as healthcare and finance, demonstrated the value of technological innovation in the Middle East whose co-founder Abdulaziz Bin Mugayel says how his company engaged in edtech has been looking at international markets for some time now and does not hide his interest in a possible expansion into Europe, perhaps starting from Italy.
The three start-ups competed against the other 24 finalists and had the opportunity to present themselves to an audience enriched by the presence of international investors who bring in a dowry of a total managed capital of around 10 billion dollars, a significant number that prompted quite a few of those present to affirm that for the first time in Italy we are witnessing an event where there is more money than start-ups, an equation that should be the norm but still appears to be a rarity, but what is important is that Nomadic Minds and Pegasus Tech Ventures, who are the organisers, have shown that it can be done and, above all, that it can be done even in places, as in the case of Palermo, that are often mistakenly considered as marginal by the local ecosystem. Among the international funds present, in addition to Pegasus Tech, the names of Orbit, Coelius Capital, Telegraph Hill, Exceptional Capital, Middle Game .
Not only has the value of the Mediterranean Startup World Cup attracted investors from around the world, but it has also sparked the interest of industrial and institutional partners who have understood the value of the initiative: the Department of Infrastructure and Mobility, the Sicilian Regional Assembly, Generali, Unicredit, PWC Prysmian, and Formula Coach. And then the speakers who enlivened the stage with presentations and their participation in the round tables who shared their vision: Jenny Fielding of Everywhere Capital from New York, Brynne Kennedy of Smart Society Ventures, also from the USA, Federico Travella of Novicap, Mike Sigal who has experience of dozens of investments in fintech start-ups and who wanted to emphasise that the fintech sector, despite what is often said at present, is far from dead. Then there was Francesca Perrone of Unicredit, Uros Lekic of Ten-Nine VC, Taryn Andersen who lives in Barcelona and divides her time between the non-profit activities of Impulse4Women and those of an investor with Telegraph Hill, and Salvatore Seminara who recounted how his organisation Sispi works to bring technology to support the strategies of the city of Palermo. Hajdi Cenan president of the Startup Association of Croatia, Varun Rekhi working with the Austrian investor Speedinvest as a growth investor, Luca Passoni of PWC Technology Transfer, Ardian Hoxha Keiretsu Forum and Takuma Terakubo who with his Uncovered Fund finances African start-ups and leads the most interesting ones to expand also in Japan have animated the conversation on Mediterranean ecosystems, emphasising how, while it is true that there are still quite a few difficulties for those who do innovative business, it is also true that in recent years there has been a substantial growth in the quality of businesses, entrepreneurs and also investors, and how the Mediterranean, historically the cradle of civilisation, continues to reserve surprises and excellence, especially in sectors such as sustainability, energy, and awareness of the importance of social impact.
Alongside them were major Italian and international investors who brought valuable contributions: from Gianluca Dettori, a pillar of Italian venture capital, to Zach Coelius, who made three investments that became three unicorns and who, without mincing words, highlighted why it is crucial to continue investing in companies that innovate, to continue taking risks and looking beyond the horizon of short-term financial returns.
The energy of the Mediterranean Startup World Cup in Palermo has come at a time when the Mediterranean, Italy and Europe are in great need of being fuelled by projects that have the dual virtue of helping to unite, connect, and involve ecosystems that are close and similar but still operationally distant, and of showing the world that the north, east and south shores of that sea that the Phoenicians first navigated in every direction, demonstrating its value, richness and variety, are capable of becoming a unique ecosystem generating great value. The wish now is that Francesco Cracolici and his formidable team are already at work to organise the second edition of the Mediterranean Startup World Cup.
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