The Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Innovation, Keith Azzopardi Tanti, attended and addressed “The Innovation Exchange 2025”, a national event that brought together innovators, entrepreneurs, academics, and representatives from various EU Member States to explore how Malta and Europe can accelerate smart growth through innovation.

The event served as a strategic platform to discuss the challenges and opportunities within Malta’s innovation ecosystem, emphasising how the country can continue evolving as a hub for investment, talent and globally scalable ideas. In his address, the Parliamentary Secretary underlined the Government’s determination to place innovation at the heart of Malta’s economy in line with Malta Vision 2050, noting that innovation is not simply an opportunity but an essential requirement for building a strong, sustainable and resilient economic model. He reiterated that Malta is not waiting for 2050 to achieve this vision but is already moving forward at full speed.

In preparation for the event, three national workshops were organised to gather direct insights from start-ups, academics and intermediary organisations. Participants highlighted recurring challenges, including lengthy grant procedures, fragmented schemes and a risk-averse funding culture. The Secretariat explained that reforms are already underway to address these issues by reducing bureaucratic burdens, accelerating approval timelines, improving communication with applicants and establishing a more risk-tolerant framework that empowers innovators and emerging technologies. These reforms form part of a wider cultural shift towards greater trust, experimentation and empowerment within the innovation landscape.

During the event, the Parliamentary Secretary also announced an important milestone: Malta has been selected as one of only four countries in Europe to host the pilot of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s new Regional Innovation Booster in 2026, a programme co-developed with Xjenza Malta. This initiative directly responds to long-standing recommendations made by stakeholders, particularly those relating to fragmented funding structures, dispersed support channels and the absence of a clear national pathway for innovators. The Regional Innovation Booster will consolidate public and private funding streams into a single coherent support mechanism, creating a unified and accessible route for innovators while enabling Maltese start-ups and scale-ups to grow faster, attract European-level investment, reach international markets and strengthen their position within the wider European innovation landscape.

The formal agreement to launch this programme will be signed on 25 November in Budapest, in the presence of EIT leadership and Xjenza Malta.

The dialogue and collaboration fostered through The Innovation Exchange 2025 reaffirmed that innovation does not develop in isolation, but through collective effort, partnership and shared ambition. Malta continues to position itself not only as a participant in Europe’s innovation journey, but as a key contributor shaping its direction and future.