The challenge.

Since 2018, the Grupo Credem has developed deep expertise in open innovation through the creation of its internal Innovation Unit, designed to generate industrial value and strengthen the bank’s positioning within the Italian market. Over the years, and in collaboration with Italian and European experts, the team studied the surrounding innovation ecosystem and observed that major corporates had started adopting open innovation models as strategic tools to evolve despite their complex and structured nature.

While large organizations gradually opened their innovation processes, many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) struggled to dedicate resources to innovation. Constantly managing daily operations, compliance, and client demands left little room for exploring new technologies or processes capable of improving efficiency and profitability. For these companies, maintaining innovation internally was neither sustainable nor scalable.

The question became: How might we make open innovation accessible to SMEs as a tangible, strategic, and sustainable growth model?

The team.

Corporate areas: Innovation, Sales, Commercial Banking, IT
Partner: Business, AI Solutions, Cybersecurity

Year.

2025