Intesa Sanpaolo Start-Up Initiative and Wayra, Telefónica’s global start-up accelerator, have signed a partnership to support innovative start-ups.
The collaboration involves Intesa Sanpaolo Start-Up Initiative and Wayra to nurture and help grow innovation ecosystems in Europe and Latin American. The agreement aims to find synergies between both initiatives to support the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem, sharing deal flows in relevant technology areas, extending mentoring, acceleration services, business development, international expansion and investors reach for the top start-ups from both programmes in their relevant territories.
Intesa Sanpaolo and Wayra believe that a direct involvement in the support of innovative start-ups is a strategic move to improve long-term competitiveness for themselves, their customers, and their surrounding economies.
Marco Lattuada, global head of telecom and media, corporate and investment banking division of Intesa Sanpaolo, says: “The Intesa Sanpaolo Start-Up Initiative has always followed a systemic approach, bringing together top international investors, institutions and corporations to maximize the chances for success of the most promising tech entrepreneurs across Europe. The partnership with Telefónica’s Wayra represents a natural step forward, leveraging the mutual belief that grassroots innovation is one of the key determinants for global competitiveness.”
Gonzalo Martín-Villa (pictured), chief executive of Wayra, says: “Growth in Europe is predicated on nurturing the skills and talent of future generations. Our success depends on identifying and backing great ideas and unleashing the positive potential of young people and technology. We’re well positioned to do so with our six Wayra academies working together in Europe, and this agreement with Intesa Sanpaolo will help us to reach even more talented entrepreneurs and start-ups.”
