Malta’s Innovation Leaders Call for Practical Reforms Ahead of Budget 2027

Malta must move beyond funding innovation projects and focus on ensuring that promising ideas become commercially viable solutions that improve citizens’ quality of life. This was the central message emerging from the Sustainable Mobility Mixer – Demo Day & Matchmaking, held recently at Salini Resort, which brought together policymakers, entrepreneurs, researchers, investors and European innovation representatives.

The event provided a platform for connecting Malta’s innovation ecosystem with European expertise, networks and opportunities, while identifying practical measures to support the country’s long-term development. It was organised by EIT Urban Mobility’s Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) Hub in Malta, represented by Deep Tech Foundry, together with the Malta Innovation Forum and was co-hosted by the Ministry for Sustainable Mobility, Xjenza Malta and the EIT Community Hub Malta, which is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.

The programme also featured an address by Minister Dr Chris Bonett, highlighting Malta’s sustainable mobility agenda, including Malta in Motion and the UrbanMinds initiative co-funded by EIT Urban Mobility. It also included the EIT Regional Innovation Booster Malta showcase, featuring presentations by mobility innovators and start-ups, the NCP4EIT project and an overview of European innovation support opportunities.

A central feature of the event was The Innovation Exchange panel, “From Vision to Venture: Building and Funding Malta’s Innovation Ecosystem”, hosted by the EIT Community Hub Malta and moderated by Diana Miceli, EIT Community Officer for Malta.

Bringing together Dr Jonathan Spiteri, advisor to Malta Vision 2050; Lluis Puerto, Head of Regional Innovation and EIT Community at EIT Urban Mobility; Dr Stuart Firman of Ganado Advocates; Brigitte Tanti, Board Member of the Malta Innovation Forum; and Geoffrey Farrugia, CEO and Founder of HandsOn Systems, the discussion examined the obstacles preventing promising research, start-ups and innovative solutions from achieving commercial and societal impact.

Five Priorities for Malta’s Budget 2027

The panel discussion and its conclusions identified five areas for consideration in the forthcoming national budget and the wider implementation of Malta Vision 2050.

1. Government as a customer of innovation. Public authorities should move beyond financing research and innovation towards actively identifying challenges and procuring innovative solutions. Innovation-driven public procurement could enable Maltese start ups, researchers and businesses to test, validate and deploy technologies that improve public services.
2. Greater investment readiness and access to venture capital. Supporting innovation must also mean preparing start ups to attract investment. Participants highlighted the need for stronger entrepreneurial and soft skills, increased engagement with international venture capital investors, and greater momentum for Malta’s venture capital fund. Malta should position itself as an attractive starting point for ventures seeking to scale internationally.
3. A genuine one stop shop for innovation funding. Participants called for a more coordinated and accessible funding support system, reducing fragmentation across multiple organisations and programmes. A unified approach would make it easier for entrepreneurs and researchers to identify relevant opportunities, obtain guidance and navigate the journey from concept to market.
4. Integrated sustainable mobility infrastructure. Greater priority should be given to safe, accessible and connected pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, rather than treating individual mobility improvements as isolated interventions. Effective mobility planning must accommodate different forms of transport and provide realistic alternatives to private-car dependence.
5. Incentives that encourage sustainable behaviour. Among the proposals discussed was a green mobility wallet, through which citizens could earn rewards for environmentally responsible commuting choices, potentially linked to tax incentives. Such approaches could encourage behavioural change while allowing individuals to contribute directly to Malta’s sustainability objectives.

These recommendations underline the importance of directing national investment towards measures that make innovation easier to develop, finance, test and adopt.

Strengthening Malta’s European Innovation Connections

The Sustainable Mobility Mixer formed part of the wider EIT Urban Mobility Country Representation engagement in Malta, connecting national stakeholders with representatives of European innovation ecosystems and demonstrating the potential of international cooperation in addressing shared mobility challenges.

The event also showcased projects and start ups including metaCCAZE, HandsOn Systems, NEVAC, Bruntor, Greenroads and Recycllux, providing opportunities for knowledge exchange, matchmaking and the exploration of future partnerships.

Proceedings continued with the Malta Innovation Forum Annual Event and Networking Reception, co-organised by the Malta Innovation Forum and Xjenza Malta, bringing together Malta’s wider innovation community and EIT Urban Mobility representatives from across Europe.

The collaboration between EIT Urban Mobility through its Country representative in Malta, Deep Tech Foundry, the Malta Innovation Forum, the Ministry for Sustainable Mobility, Malta Public Transport, Xjenza Malta and the EIT Community Hub Malta — complemented by the wider contribution of B2B Malta, BusinessLabs and Hatch to The Innovation Exchange — demonstrated the value of coordinated action in connecting innovation with public policy, economic development and European opportunities.

As Malta prepares its Budget 2027, the recommendations emerging from The Innovation Exchange offer practical considerations for strengthening the country’s innovation ecosystem, improving the commercialisation of research and ensuring that public investment generates lasting economic, environmental and societal benefits.