Blockchain, the state tender to authenticate the made in Italy

On May 26 comes the assignment: with discounts ranging from 5% to 38%, all eight contestants are awarded a slice of the pie. 28% of the contract (and of the SMEs to be managed) goes to the group led by Hspi (with Innova and Blockchain Italia), initially excluded and readmitted in July after a review of the documents. Hspi, based in Bologna, is a group born in 2003 and specialized in business consultancy, with 135 employees and a turnover of 14 million in 2021. It is part of the Txt galaxy, a digitization company listed on the Milan Stock Exchange.

The 20% goes to Apio of Pescarawhich includes among its members the digitization group Var Group, and the 15% Paduan Ez Lab, which following a crowdfunding campaign has 329 investors. The tandem made up of the sardine wins 10%. Flosslab (company founded in 2007, last year it managed assets for 1.3 million) plus Net Service (from Bologna, in the software sector since 1997, closes 2021 with 13 million in revenues). It follows Foodchains, based in the ComoNext startup incubator, in the lakeside city, born in 2016 on the basis of a project conceived in 2012 and presented in nuce at the 2015 Milan Expo, plus Domina from Biella with 8%. To the consulting giant Ernst & Young (EY) goes 6%while Mangrove on one side and the Webgenesys group, Seeds and Telecom on the other are at 5%.

Mangrove is a company specialized in blockchain, which in 2021 recorded revenues of 1.4 million in the balance sheet. The president is Angelomario Moratti, second son of the former patron of Inter and president of the oil company Saras Massimo Moratti. While the second group, in addition to the former communications monopolist, includes the Palermo startup Seeds (born in 2020), 51% controlled by the lead company of the contract, Webgenesys, 131 employees and 15 million in revenues in 2021. It closes at the last place, with 3%, Adamantic, Roman startup born in 2017.

Many of the winners boast curriculum in blockchain and agri-food tracking: Ey has worked with Carrefour, with the frozen food group Bofrost and with the wines of Casa Girelli (Cavit group), which has paved the way for the United States also thanks to the supply chain traced on blockchain, Foodchain with the citrus district of Sicily, Mangrove with Eataly. But there are also collaborations in other sectors. Like Adamantic with the Energy Services Manager or Foodchain with Sogin, the state company in charge of nuclear decommissioning.

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Each of the winners of the contract will have to: convert a sme troop to the blockchain. Ice believes it’s the right technology. According to Andrea Degl’Innocenti, manager of the Milan office of ICE dedicated to digital services to companies and responsible for the digital transition, explains that “the tracking of the supply chain or product with blockchain technology facilitates the recognition of the truly Italian product e helps to counteract the phenomena associated with counterfeiting”.