Ikigai and Next4 Group have announced the launch of a strategic partnership to tackle one of the most widely recognised bottlenecks in the Italian start-up ecosystem: the post-acceleration phase.
The accelerator programme supported by Fondazione MPS – which has supported 105 organisations, including start-ups and social enterprises – and Next4 Group, an innovation holding company, are pooling their respective expertise to extend the programme beyond the accelerator phase with an integrated offering comprising access to growth capital, subsidised finance, operational support and an international network.
Over the last five years, Italy has seen a significant expansion in accelerator programmes: CDP Venture Capital’s National Accelerator Network alone has grown from zero to over 20 active vertical hubs, and the entire Italian ecosystem supported around 5,780 start-ups in 2024, double the figure from the previous year. However, the subsequent phase remains critical: in 2025, 436 funding rounds were closed in Italy, totalling 1.735 billion euros – the second-best result on record after 2022. This figure represents an increase (+18% compared to 2024), confirming the maturing of the Italian ecosystem, though it still lags behind major European markets such as the United Kingdom (21.6 billion) and France (7.7 billion). The gap between leaving the accelerator programme and the first institutional funding round remains the point at which most of the value generated in the preceding months is lost.
The partnership provides Ikigai start-ups with four operational tools: Next4 Group’s network of institutional and private investors; subsidised financing through regional, national and European funding schemes, facilitated by Consulting Next4 Group; preparation for funding rounds and advisory services on investment contracts, provided by WDA; and international development and equity fundraising with global investors, managed by International Next4 Group.
Activities are already underway. The Next4 Group team has launched a systematic analysis of the start-ups in the accelerator programme to identify, on a case-by-case basis, opportunities to access funding schemes and subsidised finance instruments that are best suited to each start-up’s stage of development and needs. Over the coming months, the collaboration will take the form of themed workshops, sessions with investors and initiatives across Tuscany, with the aim of developing a post-acceleration model that can be replicated nationwide.
“The value of an accelerator programme is also measured after it has ended: in the startups’ ability to secure funding and grow sustainably. “With Next4 Group, we are strengthening this very phase, providing Ikigai start-ups with the expertise, financial tools and connections needed to turn the progress they have made into new opportunities for growth,” says Ester Vigilante, head of Ikigai Hub, in a statement
“It is a great pleasure for Next4 Group to be working alongside Ikigai, one of the first and most exemplary accelerators on the Italian scene. Pooling our team’s personal experience and the know-how of the entire Next4 ecosystem to support Ikigai’s start-ups is, for us, the most direct way to contribute to the growth of Italian innovation,” said Roberto Macina, CEO of Next4 Group (pictured).
Ikigai, the MPS Foundation’s programme This is an initiative by the Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation that supports the development of start-ups, career pathways and entrepreneurial projects. Run in collaboration with the certified incubator Pluriversum, the programme offers structured pre-acceleration and acceleration programmes focused on validating ideas, achieving product-market fit and monitoring KPIs. The programme offers financial resources, mentoring sessions and an ecosystem of partners to foster responsible business development that is integrated into the local economic fabric. Impact figures: over a thousand applications received, 105 organisations supported – comprising 91 start-ups and 14 social enterprises – with 83.5 per cent of the teams having formed companies and around 85 per cent of the established companies still active. The portfolio has raised more than €6 million in private capital, creating jobs for over 200 people.
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