At the Demo Day of the acceleration path by CDP Venture Capital, various proposals based on AI, inclusion and rights to meet the needs of people, each with their own needs. The call to participate in the third edition will be launched shortly
There is the company that deals with treating eating disorders, online and in person; the one that is dedicated to financial education and uses artificial intelligence to raise awareness on fundamental topics within companies; and then the translation service from Italian Sign Language (LIS) to Italian, based on AI. There are six in total startups who participated in the Demo Day of the second edition of Personae, the Welfare accelerator of the CDP National Network, which for two years has supported and invested in proposals capable of improving the well-being of people and communities. The six startups of the second batch are AccessiBit, DCA Center, Dermaself, FunniFin, GRLS And Handy Signs.
When will there be the next Personae call?
The next call to apply for the third batch will be launched shortly Personae. In the meantime, up StartupItalia you will find profiles, technologies and visions of the six innovative companies that have concluded their acceleration path (“intensive”, as they described it), lasting six months, spent between Milan And Turin. At the People Hub Milanofiori of Accenture Founder and CEO met with an audience of investors to start contacts. Many, during the pitches, quantified the collection goal: half a million euros.
Personae’s co-investors are SocialFare Seed, a|impact and Fondazione Italiana Accenture ETS. Before the pitches Marco Croissant, Key Account Manager & Impact Startup Developer at SocialFare, spoke about what he has done side by side with startups. «The batch did a great job in research. In addition to the acceleration, there was pre-acceleration, to evaluate the needs and the development roadmap.”
The six startups, selected from over 200, received a investment of 100 thousand eurosto which you can add a follow on until 300 thousand euros for the best teams in the batch. During the Demo Day, several protagonists of the innovation ecosystem, specialized in the accessibility sector, spoke. The main partners of the program are the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation, the Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo Foundation, the Giordano Dell’Amore Social Venture Foundation; Accenture participates as a corporate partner.
Accessibility, a theme for everyone
Accessibility does not just mean inclusion for people with disabilities. One of the most important aspects that emerged during the Demos Day of Personae is that discrimination – or the denial of accessibility – is a much larger problem than one might think. It has to do for example with financial literacy, certainly with disability, but also with mental health and the stigma that people still experience when they feel they have a difficult problem to share.
moon Pagnin, content creator and biologist, spoke about her commitment to different communication regarding eating disorders. «Eating disorders are psychophysical illnesses. They represent the second reason for death among young people after road accidents. There are more than 3 million certified diagnoses, but we have no idea how many are those of those who do not have access to treatment or are unable to ask for help.”
The profiles of the startups of the second batch of Personae
«Working on digital accessibility means breaking down barriers. 97% of active sites in the world are not accessible,” he commented Jacob Pontoon CEO of AccessiBit. Its is a company that aims to make websites, mobile apps and online documents accessible in compliance with current regulations. As mentioned by Pagnin, eating disorders are not addressed with the necessary urgency. «There is an ongoing health emergency – he warned Joseph Masterful, founder of Centro DCA, a network of healthcare professionals, specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, online and live -. In Italy there is an enormous problem of access to care: out of 3.5 million people suffering from DCA, only 10 thousand are those taken care of by the National Health System.”
During the pitches at the Demo Day of Personae, access to dermatological treatments thanks to digital was also discussed. «In Italy six million people have acne, with just 5 thousand dermatologists concentrated in the big cities – explained the CEO of Dermaself, Elena Setaro, a digital platform that offers personalized skincare consultations and products thanks to AI -. It is a 2.2 billion euro market in Europe, with a growth forecast of 33% in Italy. Ours is tele-dermatology.”
Thinking about welfare also involves delving into the world of business and corporate welfare. In this regard, the Personae program has accelerated the proposal of the startup FunniFin, a financial education platform that helps companies support their customers and employees on issues of financial empowerment and financial wellbeing. «We offer personalized learning with video courses, coaching sessions and a financial virtual assistant that helps you understand how to read a pay slip – commented the founder Leonardo Capotosto -. Ours is a SaaS valid as a benefit.”
Among the startups accelerated by Personae there is also GRLS, which we have already covered in the magazine (here you can find the interview with co-founder Greta Beccarello). «We have created a community of 20 thousand people. We are for inclusive recruiting”, explained the CEO Blessed Tornesi. The company is developing the platform Diverse Talent Sourcing based on AI with the aim of promoting matches between female and non-binary talents and companies.
Handy Signsa translation service from Italian Sign Language (LIS) into Italian, based on AI artificial intelligence, carried out the pitch with Laura De Blacks, LIS teacher. “In Italy there are 1 million deaf people and 70% experience communication problems with hearing people,” said the founder of the startup Emanuele Chiusaroli. The information for participating in the next Personae call will be published shortly, a program that has a total budget of 6.1 million euros.
