Agos, a leading financial company in household credit that has been present on the Italian market for thirty years with more than 230 branches and agencies, and Digital Magics, a business incubator listed on the AIM Italia market of Borsa Italiana, have launched the START&PULSE Call for Innovation.
The initiative is aimed at all Italian and European start-ups that have developed working prototypes and MVPs (Minimum Viable Products) with a strategic focus on the centrality of the customer, to innovate processes, products and business services by orienting them towards the consumer, using innovative technologies such as the Internet of Things and Virtual Reality.
START&PULSE's goal is to find the best solutions capable of creating true innovation of value for an important reality like Agos in the relationship and connection with its customers - who are at the center of the company strategy - optimizing operational and commercial efficiency in areas strategic.
Among all the startups that will send their application by 15 December 2017 on https://www.startandpulse.io/agos/, the 10 best proposals will be selected, which will be the protagonists of the Pitch day in Milan on Wednesday 14 February 2018. The founders and finalist teams will present their projects in front of the jury composed of Agos and Digital Magics.
The best startup will be rewarded with 5.000 euros in services and will be able to collaborate with the Agos Innovation Lab for the development of an experimental project with a view to Open Innovation. "Start & Pulse" is the European Open Innovation program launched by Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance, parent company of Agos.
“Listening to our customers, understanding their needs and standing by their side to serve them best represents the focus of Customer Centricity, on which we are building the future of our company. Customer satisfaction is an integral part of our strategy and is a key factor in expanding our current customer segments and offering them an excellent customer experience, with the aim of activating a better relationship with them,” said Vincent Mouveroux, Co-General Manager and Digital Strategy Director of Agos.
“The relationship between company and consumer has undergone a radical change in recent years. It is no coincidence that we speak of the 'sixth estate' to outline strength and ability. The 'consumers', as the sociologist Gianpaolo Fabris has well defined them, are at the center of every business process and it becomes increasingly important to know their profiles, behaviours, preferences and habits - said Layla Pavone, CEO of Digital Magics for industry innovation – This is why Agos has decided to involve us in searching for new solutions and opportunities that can generate added value in the relationship with current and future customers. I also believe that Open Innovation today represents a concrete possibility of development for startups. I am sure that thanks to this initiative we will build a strategic bridge between Agos and the ecosystem of startups that are developing 'customer-centric' solutions".
