CEO Daniele Di Fausto introduces the new elementary unit for experience-based, reconfigurable space and announces the formation of a new European entity.
“Real Estate innovation begins with a profound rethinking of space — which does not exist for itself, but to host and enable the experiences we all wish to live. And those experiences certainly cannot be measured in square meters.”
With these words, Daniele Di Fausto, CEO of eFM, opened the panel dedicated to “Scenarios in Digital Real Estate Innovation” during Global South Innovation 2025, the summit organized by Entopan that brought together leaders, economists, innovators, and representatives of civil society to debate key themes of innovation, sustainability, and social transformation.
Among the participants were Minister Antonio Tajani, EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Paolo Gentiloni, and former ministers Francesco Profumo and Enrico Giovannini, alongside representatives of major corporations, startups, university spin-offs, and research institutions.
Giuseppe Capicotto, General Manager of eFM, contributed to a discussion on the present and future of infrastructures, proposing the concept of a new “infrastructure of infrastructures” built upon the strategic use of data. Emiliano Boschetto, Chief Philosophy Officer, coordinated a working group focused on the creation of increasingly engaging spaces, while Valentina Gingardi, Project Manager for Urban & Digital Transformation, guided participants through the Harmonic Innovation Hub in Tiriolo: a center designed with eFM’s involvement that aims to become a new catalyst for innovation and regeneration in Southern Italy.
The digital dimension as a catalyst for innovation
During his address, Daniele Di Fausto invited the Global South Innovation panelists to reflect on topics such as digitalization, agentic AI, venture capital, and knowledge graphs — strategic elements for unlocking real estate value by conceiving buildings as “organisms that interact with everything around them, influencing and being influenced by it,” as described by Costanza Balboni Cestelli, Head of Data & Innovation at Generali Real Estate.
Her team, she explained, is committed to analyzing how the value of assets evolves “beyond the parameters of a traditional business plan.”
At the same time, Alessia Rimmaudo, Director of Corporate Equity Investments and Innovation Policies for Public Services at INPS, discussed the institute’s commitment to “enhancing the public real estate portfolio and transforming it into an intelligent and sustainable ecosystem.” Andrea Conti, Ecosystem Lead for South Europe at EIT Digital, emphasized the importance of designing spaces “fit for people’s emotions,” driven by the talents of tomorrow who will shape “not only Real Estate but also digital and service innovation—using AI that won’t replace jobs but will, in fact, put humans back at the center more than ever.”
Marco Simoni, Professor of Practice at LUISS Guido Carli University, cautioned against “the fascination with technologies that fail to respond to real and shared human needs.”
Meanwhile, Andrea Quacivi, CEO of Geoweb, identified a key priority: “to combat the risk of social isolation and actively engage younger generations.”
Rethinking infrastructures to build value and relationships
In a panel dedicated to “Infrastructure and Environmental Scenarios,” Giuseppe Capicotto reminded the audience that material infrastructures are, by definition, service assets: “Infrastructures connect, transport, and enable,” he stated. “And today, through digitalization, we can build and nurture a new ‘infrastructure for infrastructures’ — creating an exponential effect that multiplies their value and maximizes their impact on territories.”
Stefano Donnarumma, CEO of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, presented the group’s €100 billion strategic investment plan, aimed at “doubling the coverage of Italy’s high-speed network” and creating new connections with ports and intermodal hubs to “complete a more advanced and efficient freight transport system.”
Alessandro Di Graziano, Professor of Infrastructure and Transport Systems at the University of Catania, added: “Connections can be material or infrastructural—but also cultural and digital. Redeveloping infrastructures increases real estate value, creating the conditions for long-term investment and sustainable growth.”
Elisa Maceratini, Head of the Sustainable Urban Development Unit at Acciona, expanded on this vision: “The goal is not simply to connect one point to another. We must aim for regenerative infrastructures—to transform territories through infrastructure.”
In this sense, the digital dimension becomes both the key and the instrument to turn information into knowledge, fully aligning with European guidelines that promote interconnection among infrastructures. Yet, this transformation is not only technological: by placing the human element at its center, it enables the creation of relationships, balance, and harmony, fostering innovation that is sustainable, proportional, and deeply connected.
Toward a new model of development
The three-day event, featuring conferences and workshops, shared a common goal: to explore new trajectories of sustainable and inclusive development, starting from Southern Italy and the Mediterranean—interpreted as strategic laboratories for the future of the Global South.
This objective was reaffirmed by Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation: “Turning Southern Italy into a platform for innovation toward Africa is a strategic priority for the Government. Events like this—bridging the living forces of such a beautiful region—represent the kind of teamwork among institutions, enterprises, and civil society that I continue to promote. Together, for innovation and growth.”
There is, as highlighted by Alec Ross—author, entrepreneur, and professor at Bologna Business School—a cultural challenge to be met, supported by the systemic adoption of new technologies: “2025 looks a lot like 1995. Thirty years ago marked the beginning of digitalization for consumers; today, we are entering the next chapter, driven by artificial intelligence. While I sense some fear of AI in Italy, I am far more concerned about natural inefficiency. That’s why I urge us all to be courageous—to embrace risk, and to view failure not as a scandal, but as an opportunity for learning.”
Ross compared Italian innovators to American cowboys, suggesting that Southern Italy, long perceived as peripheral, could now become a frontier region, leading a new idea of enterprise, innovation, and community.
Francesco Profumo, former Minister of Education, University and Research and now President of the Entopan Strategic Committee, outlined several strategic levers to help the South “stop waiting and start leading”: “A company today is not only an economic actor—it is a social, cultural, and educational one. There is a wealth of brilliant young talent; we must build new bridges between knowledge and enterprise. But we also need a new kind of finance—one willing to bet on the long term.”
In this vision, Real Estate innovation travels in parallel with the broader transformation of territories. Both depend not only on the rise of new models but also on the redefinition of the relationship between enterprise and territory, between space and community.
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