Naturae
The acceleration programme that helps innovative businesses in sustainable development grow, in Sicily.
What it is
Helping sustainable businesses grow
Sicily has potential waiting to be unlocked: natural resources, skills and markets on which businesses can be built. Startups and young businesses working on these themes can play a decisive role, and they need to grow to really play it.
Naturae is the programme of the Impact Tech Hub innovation cluster (Isola Catania as lead partner, with a|cube and Avanzi), selected by the Sicilian Region under Action 1.1.3 Open Innovation of the PR FESR Sicilia 2021-2027 (the Sicily ERDF regional programme), which funds those who identify innovative businesses and help them grow.
The area of the Sicilian Region’s Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) we have chosen is Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, because it’s what we do every day: using business as a lever for social and environmental impact.
What we offer
Acceleration and consulting
A growing business needs two different things: learning alongside other businesses, and working on its own specific challenges. Naturae brings the two together over twelve months.
Twenty sessions take place with the group. The rest is specialist consulting dedicated to your team alone: a tutor builds the programme with you, drawing on a catalogue of twenty services in six areas.
The programme
Group sessions and one-to-one work with mentors and tutors, over twelve months.
Specialist consulting
A catalogue from which you choose, with your tutor, the services your business needs.
Terms
Up to €100,000 in value
The funding is public, a 100% non-repayable grant, with no equity given up. It has two components: the first covers the acceleration and consulting services, the second the implementation of what is built during the programme. Both are granted to businesses that successfully complete the programme.
Acceleration and consulting
The group sessions and the one-to-one specialist consulting from the catalogue.
Implementation
Capital goods, licences, technologies and consulting to put the growth plan into practice. It is granted to businesses that have successfully completed the programme and submitted an implementation project validated by the cluster.
As a grant
Reimbursed on costs actually incurred and documented, with no equity to give up.
Who we are looking for
Impact businesses
Young businesses working in the area of Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development that aim to reduce the use of natural resources, tackle climate change and pollution, and bring low-impact processes and products to market.
Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development
Biodiversity and natural areas
E.g. ecosystem monitoring, soil restoration, management of protected areas
Circular economy and water resources
E.g. water reuse, waste valorisation, water efficiency in agriculture
Climate neutrality, natural risk management and air quality
E.g. environmental sensors, predictive models, resilient agriculture
Models for sustainable development
E.g. supply chain traceability, services for communities and local areas, impact measurement
Blue economy
- Protecting and making the most of marine resources
- Technologies for water monitoring
- Sustainable blue value chains, circular maritime economy
Agrifood
- Sustainable production and distribution
- Regenerative agriculture
- Reducing food waste and short supply chains
Can you apply?
Answer a few questions (in Italian) and find out straight away whether your business meets the requirements for Naturae.
Why us
Much more than a programme
Workrooms under frescoed vaults, natural light, quiet when you need it. A terrace where you end up talking about work with someone you didn’t know.
Around the desks there are freelancers, professionals, remote workers and digital nomads passing through, founders with their teams, people working in culture and the creative sector, and people who came back to Sicily and chose to stay. Alongside them are the participants in our programmes and the organisations of the archipelago: what makes this place different is the people you meet every day.
Every week the space hosts events, meetings and presentations: the people who work here are the first to join in.
The cluster partners
Isola, a|cube and Avanzi
Working alongside Isola are a|cube and Avanzi, two benefit corporations that belong to the same ecosystem dedicated to innovation and impact. a|cube is an incubator and accelerator for impact businesses: it designs acceleration, open innovation and strategic support programmes, and advises a|impact, an impact venture capital fund. Avanzi works in sustainability research and consulting, supporting businesses and organisations with impact measurement, ESG strategies and innovation processes.
Meet the partners
The ecosystem
A network of value
Businesses, corporates, startups, foundations, universities, institutions, third-sector organisations and media. Large and small, local and global, profit and non-profit: a network that multiplies the impact of every activity, and opens markets and testing opportunities to the startups on the programme too. Isola is part of the global B Corp community, is a member of the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS) and takes part in the United Nations Global Compact and the New European Bauhaus.
Go to the ecosystemSocial enterprise and Certified B Corp
Business is the lever, not the goal
We use the tools of business (market, revenue, economic sustainability) to create social and environmental impact, not to maximise profit. It’s the same paradigm we ask of the businesses we support: a model that stands on its own feet and improves the place where it operates.
We are a social enterprise, and B Corp certification puts that choice to the test: an independent body assesses governance, workers, community, environment and customers, asks for documentary evidence and awards a score.
Our profile on bcorp.org (opens in a new tab)
Apply
Applications open soon
We’ll publish the opening date for applications here as soon as it’s set. In the meantime, if you would like to talk, get in touch and we’ll answer any questions you have about the programme.
Apply
Applications open soon
We’ll publish the opening date for applications here as soon as it’s set. In the meantime, if you would like to talk, get in touch and we’ll answer any questions you have about the programme.
Speak soon
Thank you for your message, we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often
Do I have to move my registered office to Sicily?
No. A registered office or an operating unit active in Sicily is enough, and you can base it at our hub in Catania. A formal commitment to set one up before the activities start is also accepted.
Is the funding a grant?
Yes. The acceleration services are covered at 100% of documented costs as exempted aid under Art. 28(4) of Regulation (EU) 651/2014, up to €220,000 per business over three years. The post-programme contribution falls under the de minimis regime, up to €50,000 per business, within the ceiling of €300,000 per single undertaking over three years. There’s no equity to give up.
What do I have to pay up front, and how?
The grant is paid against reported costs, so during the twelve months the startup covers the expenses and is then reimbursed: a cash requirement of around €50,000. UniCredit is a partner of Isola and offers solutions to cover the advance. We discuss this openly during selection.
Can I apply if my business isn’t registered in the special section for innovative startups?
Yes, as long as your business was set up no more than 60 months ago and has features equivalent to those of an innovative startup: research and development spending of at least 15%, or highly qualified staff making up at least a third of the team, or ownership or licence of industrial property rights.
My solution concerns the sea or agrifood: am I eligible?
Yes, if the solution falls within at least one of the four trajectories of the Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development area: biodiversity, circular economy and water resources, climate and natural risks, models for sustainable development and social innovation.
Who assesses the applications?
An internal committee of three members, independent and free of conflicts of interest: Antonio Perdichizzi, who chairs it, Davide Dal Maso and Ilaria Pais. Their names are also published on the programme page. A reasoned report is drawn up for each application, and the outcome is formalised in a public ranking.
How much commitment does the programme require?
Eighty hours of activity over twelve months: twenty shared sessions across masterclasses, talks and networking, and thirty-four hours of one-to-one work per team across mentoring, specialist advisory and lean tutoring. Coworking and the final Demo Day are also included.
Can the grant be combined with other funding?
No, not for the same eligible costs. The support cannot be combined with other national, regional or European Union public funding granted for the same costs.
Naturae is a programme funded under the PR FESR Sicilia 2021-2027, Azione 1.1.3, call «Open Innovation Sicilia», with resources from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Italian State and the Sicilian Region.
- Lead applicant · Innovation cluster
- Polo di Innovazione Impact Tech Hub (Aggregazione: Isola Catania Impresa Sociale S.r.l., ACUBE SB S.r.l., Avanzi S.P.A SB)
- Programme name
- Naturae: New Accelerator for Technologies, Use and Regeneration of Adaptive Ecosystems
- Programme type
- Acceleration programme
- Project CUP code
- G61F25000930006
- PRATT
- 45124
