Mediterranean startups meet investors and companies at Palermo port

Last Updated: May 21, 2025

Start up del Mediterraneo incontrano investitori e aziende al porto di Palermo

This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant

Twenty-seven innovative start-ups from the Mediterranean, focusing on infrastructure, smart cities, and mobility, have been selected from 423 applications from fifty countries to participate in the semi-final of the start-up world cup, scheduled for October 2025 in California. These start-ups, coming from Italy, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Serbia, Spain, France, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, as well as the United Kingdom and Singapore, will have the opportunity to connect with investors and world-renowned companies and to present their projects to a crowd of over 30 selected investors with a portfolio of about 8.8 billion dollars.

The driving force behind this Mediterranean edition of the semi-final of the “Start-up World Cup” is a young Sicilian entrepreneur, thirty-year-old Francesco Cracolici, founder and CEO of Nomadic Minds. Cracolici, who has been traveling the world for over ten years, dedicating himself to the development of emerging markets, has gathered a team of Sicilian professionals in the innovation ecosystem, including Monica Guizzardi, Aurora Incardona, and Danilo Mazzara, who have accepted the challenge of returning to Sicily after various national and international experiences.

The event is supported by the regional Ministry of Infrastructure and Mobility, represented by councilor Alessandro Aricò, and by the president of the regional assembly Gaetano Galvagno.