The Creative Business Cup Malta finals took place on Thursday 18th May at the Malta Chamber and saw 8 Maltese start-ups pitch for the top spot. Finalists Zack Ritchie Design, Nocemuskata, Perla u Suzy, The Wanderer’s Tome, Frank Wrap, Silver Filigree Jewellery Malta, Formmatters and WOW battled it out one pitch at a time, until the judges awarded The Wanderer’s Tome with first place.
The Wanderer’s Tome is a tabletop roleplaying games studio launched in 2021 by Maltese sisters Fleur and Chelsea Sciortino.. Together they write, produce and design lighthearted roleplaying content that’s comedic, character-driven and unique in setting. They are also dedicated to creating inclusive and diverse games. Their first game Flabbergasted was funded in 6 hours on Kickstarter and was 460% funded, selling more than 1000 copies. More than 5000 copies are now in distribution in four languages through licensing deals in North America, Italy, France and Ukraine. Their second product was also launched successfully through Kickstarter in April 2023. The tabletop roleplaying space is growing rapidly and with it comes new players who are looking for new and different genres and simpler mechanics to get into the hobby.
“This year’s competition demonstrated 8 very diverse creative startups that produce a range of creative products and services bridging creativity and innovation with business potential,” says Culture Venture Director and Founder Toni Attard. “As the National Partner of the Creative Business Network we are committed to continue providing an international platform for Malta’s creative entrepreneurs and champion the creative industries as an important pillar of Malta’s development.”
The Creative Business Cup, is regarded as the Olympics of creative start-ups and was launched in Malta by Culture Venture in 2021. The Creative Business Cup is a global competition organised by the Creative Business Network bringing together 80 national winners and is a unique event for innovators who aim to change the world and impact the global economy through their own unique creative enterprise.
“Malta Enterprise continues to support this event as part of our overarching push for the creative arts which are an essential component of the local startup ecosystem. We believe that startups and scaleups are key players in our efforts for further growth and development of our economy. That is why we have launched the national startup initiative under the ‘StartinMalta’ brand in order to synergise our efforts with that of all other public and private stakeholders in the field,” stated Malta Enterprise Chief Officer Corporate Relations Nathalie Farrugia.
The Global competition will provide Malta’s representative, The Wanderer’s Tome, with an international platform and unprecedented access to networks, experts and investors in the creative sectors. The Wanderer’s Tome will also be awarded a place on the entrepreneurial bootcamp sponsored by Central Mediterranean Business School. In this year’s local edition, finalists Nocemuskata, Silver Filigree Jewellery Malta and Formmatters were also awarded the sum of €1,500 for creative business development from Arts Council Malta.
Mary Ann Cauchi, the Arts Council’s Director Funding and Strategy stated that, “Arts Council Malta is honoured to be collaborating with the Creative Business Cup Malta for the third time – an initiative which falls in line with Arts Council Malta’s strategic goals for Strategy2025. We look forward to future collaborations of this nature, to continue strengthening and promoting creative entrepreneurship in the creative and culture sector.”
The Wanderer’s Tome will go on to represent Malta during the Creative Business Cup Global Finals in Copenhagen on June 5th while holding the title of Best Maltese Creative Start-up of 2023.
Culture Venture is the national partner of the Creative Business Cup. The lead partners of the national competition are Malta Enterprise and Arts Council Malta. The event is supported by The Malta Chamber and the Creative Incubator.