PROGRAM
MATCHER Venturing Out is the new strategic action for Emilia-Romagna companies ready to integrate Venture Capital into their innovation strategy. The regional ecosystem has significant potential, but the culture of investing in startups is still developing. This pilot program aims to close this gap by equipping companies with the resources to design their strategy and establish sustainable Corporate Venturing models.
The program starts with 5 workshops designed to help regional companies discover the world of Corporate Venturing. Each workshop will have a concrete and result-oriented approach and will analyse risks, opportunities and tools such as Open innovation, Venture Capital, Corporate Venture Capital e Due Diligence. The workshops are reserved to up to 50 Emilia-Romagna companies and will take place from May to June 2026.
After the workshops, 10 companies will have the chance to take part in the second phase of the program to define their investment strategy and apply what they have learned to their business. The companies will be supported in assessing their innovation performance and in defining their goals for collaborating with startups. The following scouting phase will be based on the companies’ innovation objectives and will aim to find international startups and scaleups to match their strategy. Finally, at the end of the program, companies and startups will meet during an Open Innovation event with a pitch session followed by matchmaking meetings. The companies that identify a startup to match their needs will be guided in designing a roadmap to start a collaboration or evaluate an investment.