Thirteen projects have been admitted to the second phase of Nuove Idee Nuove Imprese (“New Ideas, New Businesses”), the competition for innovative business ideas now marking its twenty-fifth year. The Technical Scientific Committee selected them from among those registered in the first phase, and the geography of the finalists speaks volumes about the Republic’s standing in this pool: five groups come from the province of Forlì-Cesena, three from Rimini, three from Bologna, one from Ravenna and only one from San Marino.
The declared common thread is artificial intelligence. “The thirteen finalist projects tell the story of a new kind of entrepreneurship that looks to innovation as a tool for tackling concrete challenges and generating value,” explains Maurizio Focchi, the association’s president, according to whom the technology intertwines with “robotics, IoT, automation and data analysis” to respond to the needs of businesses and citizens alike — from sustainability to health, from training to logistics.
Some of the selected ideas look directly to San Marino’s own territory. CLUBBEL is a geolocation platform that maps concerts, DJ sets and venues in real time, already active in Romagna, the Pesaro area and San Marino. SAFE FORGE pairs traditional workplace safety training with short, AI-generated interactive experiences designed especially for young people and foreign workers, explicitly targeting both the Italian and Sammarinese markets.
Among the other projects is ETORRE, a patented solution that turns building elevator shafts into gravitational energy storage systems, designed to work alongside renewable power installations. There’s also MICRO Y, which is testing a sensor in low orbit intended for the surfaces of future lunar bases to detect micrometeorite impacts, with the goal of applying it to the habitation module designed by Thales Alenia Space for the Artemis missions. And VALUE is developing a radar- and AI-based system to prevent falls among the elderly at home and in care facilities, without using cameras or wearable devices.
Rounding out the list are AGILE AI SYSTEM, a sales assistant for small and medium enterprises; DIGIHORECA, for restaurant and catering supply chains; EQUATHORA, a gamified math tutor; FRUTTILIX, for the fruit and vegetable supply chain; HRIMS, addressing reputational risk; LINKET, in industrial IoT; MIRAVIA, which applies robotics to cocktail preparation; and MOVABILITY, which brings mobile fitness and rehabilitation modules directly to people’s homes.
The thirteen finalists will now undertake an advanced training programme leading up to the drafting of their business plans. The final round, with cash prizes awarded, is scheduled for Wednesday, 16 December at the SGR Congress Centre. Among the competition’s partners are the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of San Marino, the National Association of Sammarinese Industry, SUMS, the University of the Republic of San Marino and San Marino Innovation.
