Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Texas director Alessia Paolicchi has just returned from Piacenza where she led a delegation of Houston business people to attend a start-up conference at Incubatore Inlab. The trip was organized by Incubatore Inlab, the Catholic University Piacenza, the Piacenza Chamber of Commerce, Confindustria Piacenza, the Association of Italian Cooperatives (AGCI), the Consortium for Technology Exchange (ASTER), and public relations firm Wellcom.

The delegation included a venture capitalist, business consultant, and business mentor — each from Houston. They were hosted by Incubatore Inlab, an “incubator” of start-ups and business opportunities based in Emilia-Romagna. The Texans met with representatives from eight start-ups from five different provinces in Emilia. The scope of their talks were informative and exploratory, giving the American delegation the chance to learn about investment opportunities in Italy.