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Meet Our Partners

X23 - The Innovation Bakery

X23 is a business support organization based in Milan and Bergamo, bringing over 25 years of private sector expertise in supporting entrepreneurs, established businesses, and corporates.

X23 is committed to innovation, social inclusion, and gender equality. It works in line with the UN SDA Goals, with a specific focus on entrepreneurship, dedicated to boosting the growth potential of innovative startups (social enterprises included) and SMEs to compete at the EU and global level.

Enterprise creation and business growth are daily challenges; commitment, talent, and a grasp of the situation are key elements to emergence in a very competitive market, and we have the experience to support businesses at every stage. This expertise has been exploited through implementing and deploying numerous projects, specifically supporting SMEs and boosting their growth through cross-border cooperation.

Chernihiv IT Cluster

Chernihiv IT Cluster is a professional community that unites technology companies in the Chernihiv region to foster joint development and knowledge exchange and strengthen the local IT industry.

Founded in October 2017, the cluster has gradually expanded, and by 2024, it comprises 9 companies specializing in software development, business process automation, the implementation of innovative technologies, and educational initiatives.

In addition to IT businesses, the cluster collaborates with key institutional partners, including the Chernihiv Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Regional Development Agency, the Chernihiv Regional Administration, Chernihiv Polytechnic National University, and the Chernihiv City Council.

Despite the challenges that have affected local businesses, Chernihiv IT Cluster maintains its activity and continues to grow, attracting new companies and initiating strategic partnerships.

The cluster's primary mission is to create a favorable environment for the development of the IT industry in the region.

Madan Parque 

MADAN PARQUE runs a technology-based incubator, which plays a critical role for its tenant companies (New Entrepreneurs, start-ups, and former start-ups in the process of acceleration), providing a diversified set of incubation services targeted to the needs of our tenants.

Our pool of SMEs comprises a wide range of companies with different origins, albeit keen to follow the activities we develop and, therefore, looking to benefit from the services and external visibility of its innovation ecosystem.

As an incubator of the NOVA School of Science and Technology (FCT NOVA), they act as a liaison agent between knowledge and innovation transfer in the ecosystem.

CCIC

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chernihiv (CCIC) is the largest business association in the Chernihiv region, supporting entrepreneurship, competitiveness, and international business integration.

CCIC is:

  • 240 members representing SMEs and enterprises;
  • 6 regional branches across the Chernihiv region;
  • 26 types of services provided, including expertise, customs clearance, goods certification, business consulting, consultations on foreign economic activity issues, training activities, and organization of business events;
  • 30 experts.

Its involvement in the proposal will guarantee a wider dissemination effect among the other UA Clusters through the adoption of new policies that will support the integration of UA SMEs into EU markets.

AFIL

AFIL – Associazione Fabbrica Intelligente Lombardia is the technological cluster for advanced manufacturing in the Lombardy Region. It is an ecosystem that brings together all types of stakeholders from the regional manufacturing sector, such as companies of all dimensions, research centers, universities, and industrial associations. It promotes research and innovation in the field of advanced and sustainable manufacturing.

AFIL's mission can be summarized in three key components:

  • Connecting stakeholders and promoting cooperation through research and innovation projects, fostering networking and the sharing of best practices within Strategic Communities focused on Circular Economy, Digitalization, Machinery, Advanced Polymers, Food Manufacturing and Additive Manufacturing;

  • Supporting policymakers: AFIL is a key reference point for the Lombardy Region in the definition of research and innovation policies, identifying priorities and creating strategic documents to guide regional policies in alignment with the needs of the industrial ecosystem;

  • Promoting interregional networks: supporting the development of research and innovation networks by participating in the National Cluster "Fabbrica Intelligente," collaborating with European regions and other R&I networks through initiatives such as the Vanguard Initiative, the Four Motors for Europe, and engaging in international platforms such as the World Economic Forum's Advanced Manufacturing Hub, the European Cluster Collaboration Platform and the Smart Specialisation Platform.

ICI Cluster 

International Cluster of Innovations and Creative Industries (ICI Cluster) is a newly established organization created by Ukrainian business consultancy and support organizations to help UA and the EU companies engaged in innovative activities and startup development and build an innovation ecosystem that will unite innovation technologies in manufacturing, deep tech, and creative industries (such as art, design, and textile companies).

Cluster's activities focus on building links between UA and EU companies to cooperate closely with stakeholders, exchange knowledge and experience in the IT and Deeptech sector, provide UA companies with access to the research and development infrastructure of EU countries, reduce costs, and minimize risks during market globalization.

University of Bergamo 

UNIVERSITY OF BERGAMO (UNIBG) — over the years, the university's research group developed competencies in the industrial transformation and sustainability field through industrial projects and PhD research aimed at measuring and minimizing the sustainability aspects related to industrial offerings.

The topic has been addressed both from the business model-focused perspective, aimed at studying the definition of sustainable and circular business models, and from a more operational one, focused on the evaluation of the impact of sustainability on operations.

In particular, the research group's competencies related to the project are: 

  • Research and technological transfer of Industry 5.0, Operations Management 5.0, and Factory of the Future Concepts, with particular attention to resilience and sustainable manufacturing;
  • Research and technological transfer of Servitization, Service Engineering, and Product-Service System Engineering methods and methodologies, with a specific focus on data-driven and sustainable Product Service Systems;
  • Development and provision of educational and lifelong learning activities also through blended methodologies.