TRIESTE – Fundo.one is born, the first startup developed within Maritime Ventures, a system initiative dedicated to the digital transformation and innovation of the maritime supply chain. Its goal is to address one of the most critical issues for small and medium-sized enterprises in the sector: access to incentives, calls for proposals and subsidized finance tools.
Maritime Ventures, promoted by CDP Venture Capital and managed by Cariplo Factory and Bridgemaker, is backed by leading industrial and financial investors such as Fincantieri, PSA Italy, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Neva SGR and Friulia, along with institutional partners including the Municipality of Genoa, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region and Confindustria Genova. Just 14 months after its creation, the initiative announces the launch of Fundo.one, an AI-native platform designed to automate and simplify companies’ access to public and private finance.
With permanent operational offices in Genoa and Trieste, Maritime Ventures has set ambitious targets: to create ten new companies in three years, with direct investments of around 30 million euros through the Boost Innovation Fund of CDP Venture Capital. The estimated leverage effect is 70 million euros, with a significant impact on the digitalization and competitiveness of Italian SMEs operating in shipbuilding, yachting, cruising and port logistics.
The platform, led by CEO Andrea Giustina – a manager with extensive experience in the startup ecosystem and a track record of an exit worth over 300 million euros – enables companies, with a simple registration, to set business objectives, launch automated and continuous searches for relevant calls, and follow each stage of the process: from submission to reporting, all through a single dashboard. Thanks to its alert and reminder system, Fundo.one provides real-time updates on new opportunities and reduces bureaucratic barriers, thereby improving the success rate of applications.
Figures confirm the need for such a tool: only 31% of Italian SMEs access public funding (amounting to 396 billion euros in 2024) and just 16% use Supply Chain Finance instruments (594 billion in the same year). In the nautical sector the percentage is even lower, as highlighted by an analysis of more than 45 companies conducted by Maritime Ventures in its early months of activity. Regulatory complexity, traceability, process digitalization and stakeholder communication emerge among the main areas where companies require innovation.
