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Podcast 🎧 & blog: From ecosystems to impact, digital and economic growth is collaborative

By Federico Plantera

The EU’s Digital Decade 2030 agenda lays out an ambitious vision: a digitally skilled population, secure and sustainable infrastructure, modernised public services, and a thriving digital business environment. But how do we get there in a way that is concrete, practical, and scalable? 

In this Digital Government Podcast episode, we sat down with Federico Menna, CEO of EIT Digital and the keynote speaker of the e-Governance Conference 2025. With a background spanning both telecom innovation and pan-European tech investment, Menna brings a dual perspective. And his message is clear: Europe must lead through strategic digital investment rooted in public value, ecosystem cohesion, and global competitiveness. 

EIT Digital and the 2030 Agenda, From Vision to Action 

EIT Digital was created to strengthen Europe’s ability to turn research into innovation, and innovation into value that benefits the economy and society. As a multi-stakeholder platform, it brings together startups, universities, research centres, and corporations to co-develop solutions, support talent, and build capacity for scaling. With hubs in more than 10 European countries and in Silicon Valley, and a wide network of partners from across the continent, EIT Digital functions as both a connector and amplifier. 

“We work directly with actors in the ecosystem to ensure that innovation doesn’t stay in the lab, but reaches people and markets,” Menna explains. “And we do so with the aim of reinforcing a European way of innovating, anchored in inclusiveness, social cohesion, and long-term sovereignty.” 

The organisation’s programmes align closely with the Digital Decade priorities – advancing digital skills, reinforcing infrastructure, and strengthening public service delivery. To that end, EIT Digital supports startups in key sectors such as cybersecurity, AI, and digital health, while its double-degree programmes offer a blend of deep tech training and entrepreneurial education. 

“Skills are sovereignty,” Menna says. “And that’s especially true when you look at areas like AI or secure infrastructure. Our role is to equip talent with the capabilities and mindset to lead responsibly in these domains.” 

Europe’s digital trajectory, in fact, must be guided by a long-term commitment to autonomy. “We are investing in our ability to act, shape, and deploy across sectors and borders, without depending on external technologies or systems.” 

In that sense, it doesn’t come as a surprise that EIT Digital has already played a key role in scaling ventures that later gained global traction. “We’ve helped cybersecurity startups go from prototypes to acquisition by major tech companies. These are European ideas becoming international assets.” 

The Digital Growth Equation: Ecosystem Thinking and Local Impact 

The idea that Europe’s digital strength lies in its diversity of actors and regions is salient here. “Some of the most exciting digital projects we support are happening in places you wouldn’t expect. Our mission is to enable those local successes to scale, connect, and influence wider transformation,” Menna explains. 

Rather than building innovation centres from scratch, EIT Digital enhances what’s already there. It supports universities, municipalities, SMEs, and research hubs that act as entry points into broader European collaboration. 

His notion of ecosystem thinking extends beyond physical infrastructure. “The networks we create, the cultures we encourage, and the agility we build into the system. When startups, academia, the private sector and governments collaborate, we see outcomes that none of them could achieve alone.” 

“Innovation must be embedded in local reality, that’s a deeply-embedded conviction,” he adds. “It has to respond to the specific needs of a region, while being able to tap into a broader European vision. That’s what makes our approach distinctive.” 

Real-world examples reinforce the point:  

  • XR4A, a digital platform co-developed with schools to support children with autism;  
  • LEVELS, which sees startups helping public agencies digitise operations 

“These are just examples,” Menna notes, “but fitting ones, of how digital innovation can address very real and very human challenges. And when they work, they have a ripple effect across sectors and borders.” Innovation needs hybrid thinking – and EIT brings together engineers, designers, and entrepreneurs to ensure knowledge transfer between industries and research. 

Investing in Projects and Advancing Development, for Conscious Policy 

Menna stresses the need for measurable outcomes that reflect both economic and societal return. “We track graduate numbers, scale-ups, follow-on investments, and real-world adoption. But we also look at how these innovations reduce gaps, whether digital, regional, or demographic.” 

This European approach to innovation, as Menna frames it, is pragmatic and values-driven. “Innovation is not a race. Rather, we see it as a responsibility. It’s about making sure the benefits are broadly shared, and that the technologies we develop strengthen our democratic institutions.” 

“Strategic investment means knowing what you want to achieve, and ensuring the mechanisms exist to make it happen,” he adds. “Well beyond funding, that’s a leadership challenge. And timing matters – if we wait too long to act, we miss windows of opportunity.” 

In that sense, his message to policymakers is clear. “The Digital Decade is that window of opportunity. We must act decisively to build Europe’s capacity – not just to use technology, but to shape it. The foundation for digital prosperity is being laid now, and we need to make sure it reflects our principles of openness, inclusion, and resilience.” 

Far from a distant vision, the Digital Decade is “a daily responsibility,” he concludes. “And with the right mix of tools, talent, and trust, Europe has all it takes to lead the next wave of innovation on its own terms.” 

 

Join Federico Menna on May 28 at the e-Governance Conference for the keynote and discussion keynote and discussion ”Unlocking competitiveness through digital innovation: from investment to impact” 

Check the programme, and get the tickets >>> egovconference.ee 

 

Listen to all Digital Government Podcast episodes >>> https://ega.ee/digital-government-podcast/