The Vatican as Silicon Valley? That's what's happening with the Laudato Si' Challenge, a competition for startups that want to work in the social sector and turn a profit.
When you think of the startup world, the first things that probably come to mind are coworking spaces, meetings with companies and investors, trips around the world in search of ideas and partnerships. A very different picture from the one associated with the Vatican. And yet, right now a full-blown startup competition inspired by the words of Pope Francis — right down to its name — is getting under way: the Laudato Si' Challenge.
The Laudato Si' Challenge is the brainchild of Stephen Forte, managing partner of venture capital fund Fresco Capital. The official announcement came in May, via a post on Medium: the launch of a startup accelerator based in Rome, inspired by Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si'. Startups that work towards a clear social and environmental purpose while also aiming to make profits will be eligible to take part.
Applications were accepted until 5 June. Fifty startups then began conversations with their own mentor, leading to the selection of the 12 that flew to Rome for the acceleration programme, running from 13 July to 9 September, receiving $100,000 in exchange for investment stakes of between 6 and 8 per cent in the project. At the end of the year the projects will be presented at a Demo Day at the Vatican. All information is available on the official website.
The startups taking part in the Laudato Si' Challenge must propose innovative ideas and solutions across seven themes, the same ones on which the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are focused:
The Laudato Si' Challenge takes its name from the encyclical published in June 2015 by Pope Francis, one of the most eagerly anticipated in recent history. In the text, the Pope makes an appeal to "protect the common home", working to combat climate change, which is "a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day. The gravest effects will probably be felt by developing countries in coming decades." The encyclical also promotes the need for a new model of sustainable development that is inclusive, one in which we "slow down" in order to pursue a way of life in harmony with the environment and the lives of all peoples.