There are 230 applications received for "Mps Workshop", the new Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena project born with the aim of enhancing the growth of startups and SMEs with a high technological and innovative content. Launched by the Bank on 1 February last, the initiative aims to select, support and enhance talent to accelerate the Group's evolution, develop new businesses and lay the foundations for the country's growth, while pursuing at the same time the strengthening of the customer experience, improvement of business processes and development of the commercial offer. Among the total applications submitted through the website www.officina.mps.it, 24% come from Lombardy, the most active region in terms of innovative startups in Italy, and 15% from Lazio. Particularly relevant are the numbers from Tuscany with 20% of the applications, well above the national average considering the number of innovative Italian startups registered in the register, confirming the good roots of the Bank in the area.
From an initial selection of projects, 21 startups were identified which will participate in the selection day in Milan on 6 April, where they will be able to illustrate the main characteristics of the entrepreneurial initiative and the opportunities for application in the context of BMPs. The 7 finalists will then be chosen who will have access to the next phase and will work individually in concert with MPS management to identify a concrete application of the innovation to the Bank's context with a view to "Co-planning" to be implemented quickly. The proposals will be judged on the basis of the innovative strength in terms of distinctiveness and differentiation of the offer, the applicability, or the potential and the degree of attractiveness of the projects for the purpose of possible collaborations or partnerships with the Bank, the ability of the proposing team to manage implementation projects even in complex contexts and the ability to present the entrepreneurial initiative effectively in terms of communication.
The startups and innovative SMEs identified will work side by side with selected Bank managers to identify the best ways to implement their solutions in BMPs, a virtuous collaboration that can represent an opportunity for growth for all parties involved. The former will be able to test and verify the applicability of their projects in a real context, the latter will increase their skills by directly contaminating themselves with those who innovate, giving further impetus to the path of change already started by the Bank. At the end of the selection phase, the best startup will be chosen and will receive a contribution of 25.000 euros and will have the opportunity to implement its own solution in the Bank.
