B4i: The Second Bocconi Accelerator Program Announces Six Winners

The acceleration path has started for Argoful, Conviv, EinFintech, Green Games, Mapo Tapo, and Quick Algorithm Analytics, the 6 startups selected by B4i - Bocconi for innovation. The B4i platform, at Milan’s Bocconi University, has the triple role of pre-accelerator, business accelerator and development hub for corporate entrepreneurship, ie entrepreneurship within companies.

The six startups selected were chosen on the basis of the innovativeness of the business idea, quality of the team of founders, ability to satisfy the market and relevance to the three areas of innovation in which B4i - Bocconi specializes: Digital Tech, Sustainability and Made in Italy.

The Digital Tech area, coordinated by Massimo Della Ragione and dedicated to startups with a focus on technologies and their applications in various professional and commercial sectors, welcomed four companies:

Cargoful, a digital transport company that gives independent haulers the power and tools of large companies;

Mapo Tapo, which creates and organizes group trips for extreme sports enthusiasts, supporting the development of sustainable sports tourism in locations off the beaten path;

EinFintech, which provides automated and interactive equity analysis through transparent tools and institutional quality data;

Quick Algorithm Analytics, which helps companies make the most of data and Artificial Intelligence to improve their products and their efficiency.

In the Made in Italy area coordinated by Gabriella Lojacono with a focus on manufacturing, fashion and food, the entrant is:

Conviv, which has created a Made in Italy non-alcoholic infusion for cocktails that can offer the same experience as traditional cocktails in terms of image and taste.

Finally, in the area of sustainability, coordinated by Stefano Pogutz and dedicated to projects ranging from the circular economy to smart cities and the future of mobility, there is:

Green Games, a startup originating from the pre-acceleration path of B4i - Bocconi for innovation, which develops video games and applications with an eco-sustainable business model.

"After the first acceleration experience, which proceded with the same enthusiasm as the start up despite the lockdown emergency, we are ready to embark on a new acceleration path with the six startups selected from a thriving and interesting panorama of proposals and projects. We aim to make B4i - Bocconi for innovation an increasingly active and concrete facilitator between the world of startups and that of Italian and international companies ", declares Markus Venzin, Dean for Innovation at Bocconi University.

The benefits of the program include access to a network of experts and mentors, such as Bocconi University professors, Bocconi alumni from different continents and sectors, and experienced professionals such as entrepreneurs, investors and C-level managers. In addition to this, startups can develop commercial networks and sales channels towards B2B customers, take advantage of discounted services from Bocconi and affiliated suppliers, including databases, clouds, CRMs, legal, accounting, digital marketing packages, and much more.

"We are happy to embark on a new path with the six selected companies, chosen from the over 230 applications received on the basis of a level of talent and entrepreneurial spirit, which is very high. In B4i, ideas, services and networking aim to foster rapid growth and the success, not only of the single new company participating in the acceleration program, but above all in creating a system within the Italian educational and economic context. From there we can offer highly innovative solutions and growth opportunities at different levels and with an international spirit ", says Nico Valenti Gatto, Operating Director of B4i - Bocconi for innovation.

B4i - Bocconi for innovation can rely on important institutional partnerships such as that with the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), the Milan Polytechnic, the University of Milan and operational partnerships with Plug and Play, Invitalia and Kilometro Rosso. It was inaugurated in November 2019, when it launched the call for the first acceleration program, which ended in July 2020. Last June B4i - Bocconi for innovation launched the second 'Bocconi for Innovation Startup Call', from which, after a careful evaluation of the many applications, has selected these six finalist startups who will receive financial support of 30,000 euros each and a free acceleration course.