‘Investopia Europe’ kicks off in Milan to stimulate investment

Investopia, a global ecosystem initiated by the UAE Government, launched its second edition of Investopia Europe, part of the Investopia Global Talks series at Palazzo Mezzanotte, the historic headquarters of the Italian Stock Exchange in Milan. The aim was to formulate a new vision for stimulating investment in tourism, hospitality, aviation, creative economy, entrepreneurship, small and medium-sized enterprises, and sustainability.

This event also aimed to explore the latest global trends in expanding business operations into new markets to attract investments and modern financing trends in European markets with a focus on new and sustainable economic sectors.

The event was held in collaboration with EFG Consulting and sponsored by the leading Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo.

The event was attended by Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Chairman of Investopia, Adolfo Urso, Italian Minister of Industry, Daniela Santanchè, Italian Minister of Tourism, Silvio Schembri, Minister of Economy, Investments, and Strategic Projects, George Papandreou, Minister of Energy, Trade, and Industry in Cyprus, Abdulla Ali Al Saboosi, Ambassador of the UAE to Italy, 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.

The event attracted more than 50 speakers and 700 participants, including leaders, officials, CEOs, businessmen, experts, decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and representatives from a wide range of companies and financial institutions in the UAE, Italy, Malta, Cyprus, and Portugal. The UAE delegation participating in the second edition of “Investopia Europe” included representatives from over 50 companies from the UAE.

Bin Touq stated that Investopia Global Talks have succeeded over the past three years in bringing together visionaries, leaders, investors, and the most ambitious entrepreneurs at the local, regional, and global levels under one umbrella to generate innovative ideas and create global investment opportunities in new economic sectors.

This is to create an attractive economic climate and open a new investment gateway for business communities, major companies, financial, industrial, and technological institutions.

He added that Investopia Global Talks create promising economic opportunities for the Emirati and European business communities and enhance the country’s attractiveness for Italian and European investments in new economic sectors. Choosing Milan, the Italian trade capital, to host Investopia Global Talks for two consecutive years reaffirms the importance of the Italian business community as a significant partner in the business and investment sectors in the UAE.

“More than 600 Italian companies operate in the UAE market, and Italy serves as an important economic gateway for Emirati companies in Europe. Total Emirati investment flows to Italy amounted to around $300 million from 2018 to 2022, while Italian investment flows to the UAE amounted to approximately $343 million during the same period, confirming the continuous investment momentum between the two countries in all economic activities and sectors.” He explained that the first edition of “Investopia Europe” focused on stimulating investment in rapidly growing sectors, especially the circular economy, family businesses, luxury products, and technology.

He said, “We continue our work through the second edition of these dialogues with our Italian and European partners at both government and private levels to expand into other new economic sectors, including tourism, creative industries, sustainability, and discuss advanced economic policies that contribute to enhancing sustainable economic development.” Abdulla bin Touq highlighted the promising investment opportunities and potentials enjoyed by the tourism and hospitality sectors in the UAE, which have witnessed steady growth over the past few years. He pointed out that the country has set a target to attract new tourism investments worth Dhs100 billion by the next decade, in line with UAE Tourism Strategy 2031, and invited participants to invest in these vital sectors.

Investopia 2024 held recently in Abu Dhabi effectively organised an all-encompassing strategic discussion, bringing together more than 105 speakers, including ministers, policymakers, leading investors, economic experts, and entrepreneurs from different regions of the world. The objective was to outline a distinct roadmap for promoting sustainable economic growth for countries and communities alike. It also aimed to contribute to driving development in the face of global economic challenges by engaging in meaningful discussions on major economic topics at both regional and global scales.

The speakers emphasised the importance of increasing investments in emerging and sustainable economic sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, infrastructure, clean energy, circular economy, health, creative industries, sports, tourism, aviation, and entertainment. These sectors are in line with current global investment and financing trends, as they represent the future of the economy and contribute to the transition to more adaptable and competitive economic models.