The Italian Trade Agency (ITA), also commonly known as Agenzia ICE, is organising, in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), an acceleration programme to support the positioning of Italian SMEs and space start-ups in the USA, to be held from August 21st to September 30th, 2023 in Houston, Texas. Applications will be accepted until 4 PM (CEST) of July 4th, 2023.
The programme will mainly serve to:
help improve the deck pitch of start-ups towards their internationalisation and customisation for the United States market, including product certification for this market;
arrive at a more concrete business/industry assessment on the possibility of expanding one's business activity in the US;
contribute to the correct positioning in the US market, to the visibility of the companies in the territory and to the support of possible processes of opening branches/offices on-site;
support and accompaniment in matchmaking activities with investors, start-ups, SMEs and local industry, and in general with the US space ecosystem.
Typical recipients of this opportunity are start-ups or SMEs that are active in the Italian space sector, have a minimum viable product (MVP), are interested in scaling their business rapidly, and see growth opportunities in the US market.
Italy is one of the top partners for the USA in global terms in the space sector. Its market share is 3%, for a total value of close to $3.2B, demonstrating ample potential for the development of more trade opportunities. In 2021, the US recorded over $147B of trade (of which $49Bn related to imports) in space products. In 2021, Italy was the seventh largest exporter of aerospace goods to the US.
Furthermore, the US is the main reference in terms of capacity, innovative trends, research and development in the space sector, and political and economic relations between Italy and the US are strong and solid. The USA is also the first country in terms of non-European foreign offices of Italian companies and there are several US companies in the sector that have an office in Italy to develop the European market.
For more information about the acceleration programme launched by the Italian Trade Agency and on how to apply to join it, please visit the official webpage - in Italian language - and read the details of the initiative. Applications will be closed on July 4th, 2023 at 4 PM (CEST).
