The third edition of Coopstartup Piemonte, the project by Legacoop Piemonte and its mutual fund Coopfond to promote new business ideas in cooperative form, kicked off on October 30, 2024. Its network of partners - including I3P - has also expanded this year, adding the patronage of the City of Novara and collaboration with the University of Eastern Piedmont.
The ‘call for ideas’ of the new edition of the call will be open until January 31, 2025: it is aimed at all groups of at least three people who have a project to implement as a co-operative enterprise or existing co-operatives that are established after February 1, 2023.
All participants will receive free training on the principles of cooperative start-ups. The best proposals will then be selected for a one-to-one course to develop their idea and draw up a business plan, at the end of which the winners will be able to set up a co-operative enterprise and receive a prize of €6,000, non-repayable, for start-up and business development expenses and vouchers that can be spent on training, assistance and mentoring services.
In addition, Coopstartup Piemonte confirms its commitment to sustainability and innovation through special prizes awarded by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo (€5,000 for start-up costs) and Novacoop (€1,000 in vouchers expendable in Coop shops) to projects that will have the greatest impact on environmental and social issues and that will promote the use and experimentation of new technologies.
With 11 projects in each of the previous editions, Coopstartup Piedmont is confirmed as an important tool to stimulate youth entrepreneurship and gender equality, the creation of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs), as well as projects focused on inland areas subject to depopulation. Themes that reflect a commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth, with the aim of creating a positive impact on local communities.
"We are very pleased to launch the third edition of Coopstartup Piemonte, a project that has already demonstrated its value in the past years with a large number of projects presented, many of which then became cooperative enterprises," said Andrea Passoni, CEO of Coopfond. "In collaboration with Legacoop Piemonte, Coopfond wants to continue supporting new ideas to enhance cooperative entrepreneurship as a lever of economic and social development in the Piedmont region. With this new edition, we are renewing our commitment to offer newly established groups and cooperatives a training and support path to transform themselves into solid and sustainable entrepreneurial realities, promoting innovation and generating a positive and lasting impact in their communities."
"With Coopstartup Piemonte, Legacoop Piemonte renews and strengthens its commitment to support young entrepreneurial ideas and innovation in cooperative form," commented Cristiana Poggio, from the Presidency of Legacoop Piemonte. "This year, thanks to the patronage of the City of Novara and the collaboration with the University of Eastern Piedmont, which join the already extensive network of partners, we aim to create an even more solid and inclusive network, to support projects that enhance environmental and social sustainability, and that are able to offer concrete solutions to the challenges of our time."
The Coopstartup project has the patronage of Regione Piemonte, the City of Turin, the City of Novara and Unioncamere, and is also carried out thanks to the support of several operating partners: Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, University of Turin, 2i3T, Politecnico di Torino, I3P, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novacoop, Inforcoop Ecipa Piemonte, SocialFare.
