Startup Human Company Corporate Partner Of Argo Accelerator For Tourism And Hospitality

Rome, January 26 (Labitalia) - Human company, a historically significant name in Italian hospitality, hosted the first roadshow for choosing the startups that will participate in the project at the central market in Florence after announcing its involvement as a corporate partner in Argo, the first accelerator for startups and innovative SMEs that develop solutions or services for the tourism and hospitality industries. In December, Cdp Venture Capital launched Argo in association with the Ministry of Tourism as a member of the company's nationwide accelerator network.

The acceleration program is run by LVenture Group, one of the major startup accelerators in Europe (which invests alongside Cdp Venture Capital in the chosen startups), and Venisia, the sustainable innovation ecosystem of ca' foscari university of Venice. The Italian Hospitality School is the technical partner for Argo, which is supported by the main partners Intesa Sanpaolo and Intesa Sanpaolo innovation center in addition to Human Company. This network was created especially for the growth of startups that are specialized in one market, that of tourism, which has the greatest growth potential.

The program's goal is to find and choose the most promising Italian or foreign traveltech startups with plans to establish a business presence in the Italian market. Every year for the next three years, 10 startups and SMEs with cutting-edge goods or services in the tourism sector will be chosen. The chosen businesses will receive a pre-seed investment of about 75,000 euros for an equity of between 3 percent and 8 percent, with the possibility of accessing additional post-selection funding, including a non-repayable grant of 25,000 euros provided by the Ministry of Tourism.

Support for all startups and SMEs making their first forays into the tourism industry, particularly open-air but not only, is a matter of utmost importance for Human Company, who is currently engaged in an important path of the company's digital transformation, according to Luca Belenghi, CEO of Human Company. The group is committed to the creation of a national ecosystem of fresh, creative businesses that will support the expansion of environmentally friendly travel and tourism while also addressing the challenges presented by a market that is drastically changing due to the demands of travelers, technological advancements, and business opportunities.

Finding the most creative solutions in such a crucial area for our nation, both economically and in terms of employment, actually enables all participants to develop appropriately. It is a project with significant human value that conveys the need for the tourism industry as a whole to advance toward sustainability and digitization.

The Argo project is now in action and in its most intriguing stage: the selection phase is developed through three "roadshows," designated meeting times during which the 30 most intriguing proposals will be examined with additional interviews by the Accelerator. The first of these took place in Florence on January 25 at the Central Market, and there will be two more, one on February 1 and the other on February 8.

Only 16 startups will be chosen to participate in the Selection day, the final phase, which will be held on March 20 in front of a group of program partner selectors. Starting in April, the acceleration program will give the 10 chosen startups the chance to develop over the course of five months through a training course with subject-matter experts and validate their products and business models for go-to-market.