Investopia held the second edition of ‘Investopia Europe’ at Palazzo Mezzanotte, the historic headquarters of the Italian Stock Exchange in Milan, with an aim to contribute to shaping a new vision for dynamizing investments in tourism, hospitality, aviation, creative economy, entrepreneurship, SMEs, and sustainability. The event explored the latest global trends in the expansion of businesses into new markets to attract investments in addition to modern financing trends in the European markets, with a focus on new and sustainable economic sectors. The event was held on 10 May 2024 in collaboration with EFG Consulting, sponsored by the leading Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo.

The second edition of Investopia Europe was attended by H.E. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Chairman of Investopia; H.E. Abdullah Ali Al Saboosi, Ambassador of the UAE to Italy; H.E. Adolfo Urso, Italian Minister of Industry; H.E. Daniela Santanchè, Italian Minister of Tourism; H.E. Silvio Schembri, Minister of Economy, Investments, and Strategic Projects; and H.E. George Papandreou, Minister of Energy, Trade, and Industry in Cyprus. Marco Zanni, Member of the European Parliament; Dr. Jean Farès, CEO of Investopia; Professor Giovanni Bozzetti, CEO of EFG Consulting; Carlo Messina, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo Italian banking group; and Stefano Parisi, Head of Retail and SME Banking Services at Intesa Sanpaolo Italian banking group, were also present.

The event attracted more than 50 speakers and 700 participants, including government officials, CEOs, businessmen, experts, decision-makers, and representatives from a wide range of leading companies and financial institutions in the UAE, Italy, Malta, Cyprus, and Portugal such as Intesa Sanpaolo, Dolce&Gabbana, Altagamma, BMW, and Blastness. The UAE delegation participating in the second edition of Investopia Europe included representatives of over 50 companies in the UAE.

H.E. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri said: “Over the past three years, the ‘Investopia Talks’ have succeeded in bringing together visionaries, leaders, investors, and the most ambitious entrepreneurs at local, regional, and global levels under one umbrella to generate innovative ideas and global investment opportunities in new economic sectors. It contributed to creating an attractive economic environment and opening a new investment gateway for business communities, major companies, financial, industrial, and technological institutions.”

 “Investopia Europe creates promising economic opportunities for both Emirati and European private sector by highlighting the UAE’s attractiveness for Italian and European investments in new economic sectors. The choice of Milan, the Italian trade capital, to host Investopia Global Talks for two consecutive years reaffirms the importance of the Italian private sector as a significant player in the UAE’s business and investment sectors. While more than 600 Italian companies operate in the UAE market, Italy serves as a crucial economic gateway for UAE companies in Europe. The UAE’s investments in Italy reached USD 300 million between 2018 and 2022, while Italian FDI flows to the UAE amounted to approximately USD 343 million during the same period. This confirms the continued momentum in investment flows between the two countries in all economic activities and sectors,” H.E. added.

H.E. Bin Touq said: “The inaugural edition of Investopia Europe focused on stimulating investment in rapidly growing sectors, especially the circular economy, family businesses, luxury goods, and technology. We seek to build further on this momentum through the second edition of Investopia dialogues with our Italian and European partners at both government and private levels, to facilitate expansion into other new economic sectors. These include tourism, creative industries, sustainability, and advanced economic policies that contribute to enhancing sustainable economic development.”

H.E. highlighted the promising investment opportunities and potential of the UAE’s tourism and hospitality sectors, which experienced significant growth in recent years. He pointed out that the country aims to attract new tourism investments worth AED 100 billion by the next decade in line with the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031, and invited participants to explore investment opportunities in these vital sectors.

Furthermore, H.E Bin Touq elaborated on the UAE’s competitive business environment as well as the opportunities facilitated by flexible economic laws and advanced infrastructure for investments in diverse economic sectors. These include new economy, sustainability, SMEs, and entrepreneurial ventures. The UAE has notably emerged as a prime destination for establishing businesses and innovative ventures, securing the top position globally for the third consecutive year in the 2024 Global Entrepreneurship Index report.

H.E. Adolfo Orso, Italian Minister of Industry, said: “Italy is a bridge linking Europe to the Middle East and Africa, and always looks in its economic development policies to the Mediterranean regionWe are keen to strengthen economic and investment ties with the UAE, which invests heavily in vital economic sectors, especially technology, communications, infrastructure, and trade, in addition to supporting cooperation in establishing joint projects in various fields such as renewable energy and fiber optics.”

Meanwhile, H.E. Daniela Santace, Italian Minister of Tourism, underlined the importance of stimulating investment in various tourism sectors, which are among the most promising sectors for attracting investments. She noted that the Arabian Travel Market exhibition, which was held in Dubai recently, serves as a key platform for building new partnerships and enhancing cooperation between various global tourism markets. She also expressed the Italian government’s desire to support companies that invest and contribute to the development of this vital sector.

Giovanni Buzzetti, CEO of EFG Consulting, said that Investopia Europe has a key role in facilitating the expansion of businesses and attracting investments in the new economy by offering valuable opportunities in various fields. It creates dialogue and discussions that stimulate investment flows in various investment sectors, thus enhancing sustainable economic development.

He added: “This year, we decided to expand the scope of Investopia Europe to include Malta, Cyprus, and Portugal, with an aim to contribute to overcoming the economic challenges the world is witnessing and turning them into real opportunities for development.” He noted that promising investment and business opportunities exist in the sectors of tourism, technology industries, hospitality, health care, education, and infrastructure, especially since they contribute significantly to accelerating the economic growth of countries around the world and building more partnerships.

In detail, the second edition of Investopia Europe Dialogues featured six productive sessions. The first and main session titled “Mechanisms for Promoting Global Economic Growth and Building Sustainable Partnerships” discussed a set of economic policies and legislation related to supporting the stability of the global economy. The session was attended by H.E. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Chairman of Investopia, H.E. Adolfo Orso, Italian Minister of Industry, H.E. Silvio Schembri, Minister of Economy and Industry of Malta, and H.E. George Papanastasiou, Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry of Cyprus.

The second session, entitled “Encouraging Investment in Sectors and Activities Related to Creative Economy,” shed light on the mechanisms for enabling companies to expand in creative industries. Speakers at the session explained that the creative economy is a fundamental pillar in promoting comprehensive economic development, increasing productivity levels, and creating opportunities for development and leadership. They noted that creative economy strategies would help develop new and innovative products, and provide a suitable and stimulating climate for creative people to generate added economic value by integrating creativity with investment opportunities. Participating in this session were Alfonso Dolce, CEO of Dolce & Gabbana, and Elie Habib, co-founder of Anghami.

The third session titled “Investing in Diverse Sustainability Areas” featured Massimiliano De Silvestre, President and CEO of BMW, Zuhair Sabra, CEO of Bee’ah Investments, and Maurizio Daluccio, Professor of Corporate Finance at Bocconi Economic University in Italy. The attendees discussed the gains that countries are achieving from expansion and investment in sustainable sectors such as green infrastructure, clean energy, smart transportation, sustainable food, and manufacturing, which contribute to enhancing the shift towards circular economy and green economy models and preserving natural resources. The speakers said that sustainability is the greatest investment opportunity currently and must be exploited in an ideal manner by governments and business communities alike to achieve sustainable economic development and overcome the climate challenges facing the world.

The fourth session, titled “Growth Opportunities for Small and Medium Enterprises,” focused on the enablers that can be offered to owners of startups and small and medium enterprises in the Emirati and European markets to enhance the growth of their businesses, increase their investments in new economic sectors, and support the access of their exports to foreign markets. Participating in the session were Nader Al Bastaki, Managing Director of the Dubai Future District Fund, Fabrizio Testa, CEO of Borsa Italiano, and Anna Rossio, Executive Director of Corporate Sales and Marketing at Intesa Sanpaolo. The speakers emphasized that the SME sector plays a prominent role in the prosperity of world economies and supports its sustainability. It is therefore necessary to pay attention to the continuous development of this vital sector and to work to provide all enablers that enhance its leadership and growth.

The fifth session, entitled “How companies can benefit from the momentum of mutual investments between the UAE and Italy,” touched on the competitive business climate of the two countries and their role in providing promising investment opportunities to the Emirati and Italian private sectors and promoting the establishment of joint projects at government and private sector levels.

Finally, the last session titled “Innovative Opportunities and Solutions in the Tourism and Hospitality Sectors” discussed the latest trends shaping the future of tourism development and the hospitality industry at the regional and global levels, driven by a new generation of travelers with diverse requirements. Andrea Delfini, Chairman and CEO of Blastness-SPA, Massimiliano Morrone, CEO of UnipolSai Investimenti SGR, and Antonio Gonzalez, Chairman and CEO of Sunset Hospitality Group, discussed the role of innovation in promoting sustainable tourism growth and enabling global best practices in various tourism sectors, improving the experience of visitors and tourists.

In addition to the sessions, the Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo presented an overview of the current global economic landscape, the most prominent economic developments, and the capabilities for promoting sustainable economic growth. Apart from that, five roundtable meetings were held in the presence of a large group of officials, experts and specialists. These meetings discussed the importance of strengthening the partnership between the government and private sectors in establishing new projects that support sustainable economic development. Promising opportunities for investment in new economic sectors, SMEs, creative economy, tourism, and hospitality were also discussed, in addition to the global economic predictions in light of economic and geopolitical changes.

Since its inception, Investopia has organized a series of ‘Investopia Dialogues’ covering prominent local, regional and international markets: New York, Geneva, New Delhi, Mumbai, Milan, London, Cairo, Rabat, Havana, and Dubai.

Investopia has three main pillars: Investopia Dialogues, Investopia Communities, and Investopia Marketplace. The third edition of Investopia, which was held in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, on February 28 and 29, brought together a number of leaders, ministers, decision-makers, major investors, entrepreneurs and economic experts at the government and private sector levels. More than 105 speakers addressed more than 1,800 participants from around the world, who gathered to learn about latest global trends in investment in new economic sectors.