On 10 July 2026, the event “BioTech2Agri meets businesses: innovation and cross-border opportunities” was held at the Udine Exhibition Centre. The initiative was promoted by INFORMEST within the framework of the BioTech2Agri – Biotechnological Innovation for Sustainable and Competitive Agriculture project, co-funded by the Interreg VI-A Italy–Slovenia Programme 2021–2027.

The event represented the concluding moment of the support pathway dedicated to companies benefiting from the Innovation Coin and provided an important opportunity for discussion among SMEs, project partners, experts, universities and innovation ecosystem stakeholders from Italian and Slovenian territories.

During the event, the results of the activities carried out under the first three Innovation Coin services were presented. These services focused on assessing the technical feasibility of innovative ideas, developing business models and guiding companies towards available funding opportunities.

Considerable attention was also devoted to sharing experiences and best practices in the field of biotechnological innovation applied to the agri-food sector. Among the presentations, the University of Udine introduced the UNITED project, illustrating solutions for the valorisation of agri-food waste through innovative and interdisciplinary approaches. From Slovenia, the experience of LabDerma was presented as a concrete example of transferring innovation towards high value-added applications in the cosmetics sector.

A further session focused on financial instruments supporting innovation. Representatives of CiviBank and Finreco presented opportunities, tools and pathways to support innovative investments, highlighting the importance of financial planning and access to credit in business growth and development processes.

The final part of the event was dedicated to an interactive networking session facilitated by Central Marketing Intelligence, involving companies, experts and project partners in a direct discussion on the main challenges faced by the agri-food sector.

Through collaborative working activities, several common themes emerged, including the valorisation of by-products and residual biomass, the transition from idea to market, the search for specialised skills and the economic sustainability of innovation processes. The discussion also encouraged the identification of possible collaboration opportunities among businesses, research institutions and innovation ecosystem actors.

The event confirmed the value of cross-border cooperation in facilitating the exchange of knowledge, experiences and expertise among the territories involved in the Interreg Italy–Slovenia Programme, contributing to strengthening the conditions for a more sustainable, innovative and competitive development of the agri-food sector.

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