MeetInc sat down with Alexandra Sciberras, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Innovation Officer at Invent 3D, as part of our mission to spotlight the businesses transforming Malta’s economy from the inside out. This feature dives into how a home-grown startup is redefining what manufacturing can look like on our islands.
When Alexandra Sciberras and her husband David launched Invent 3D in 2018, it began as a modest home project. “Our first 3D printer was something we just tinkered with in the living room,” Alexandra recalls. Today, the company stands as one of Malta’s leading additive-manufacturing players, bridging rapid prototyping, medical-device design, architectural model-making and beyond.
The idea and the gap
The origin story is deceptively simple: Alexandra and David bought a printer and soon realised the market needed more than “toys”. As Alexandra explains: “Traditional manufacturing has low product turnaround speed, limited flexibility, lacks innovation and is very expensive.” That realisation became the founding thesis of Invent 3D, using additive manufacturing to offer lean, agile solutions from “design to production”.
In less than three years, the start-up left its garage base in Żabbar and opened a 500 m² facility in the Bulebel industrial estate, equipped with 130-plus printers. That rapid scaling underscores how 3D printing moved in Malta from niche hobbyist to viable industrial service. “We are redefining the possibilities and applications of design and manufacturing”, states the company’s website.
From prototyping to medical-device production
While architectural models, trophy manufacture and movie props feature in Invent 3D’s portfolio, the real differentiator has been its pivot into medical and industrial sectors. During the early COVID-19 pandemic, Invent 3D worked with the Infection Control Unit at Malta’s Mater Dei Hospital to manufacture and donate 10,000 face shields, and retrofitted older respirators with COVID-compatible filtration in record time.
From Alexandra’s side: “I am focusing more on the medical side of it because I believe that is the future, where there is more growth.”
Scaling the business and the value chain
Invent 3D’s modular service model spans product design and development, rapid prototyping, reverse engineering, print-on-demand and even large-scale architectural builds. Its claim to fame includes negligible lead times, zero tooling costs and infinite customisation, core advantages of additive-manufacturing workflows.
The challenge now lies in converting fast-prototype work into scalable medical-grade production. That is why Alexandra’s focus includes researching and validating materials for regulated use: “I have to make sure they’re safe for medical use, and we can create objects like this,” she notes, gesturing to a printed component built for surgical guidance.
Culture and leadership perspective
Alexandra emphasises determination and adaptability as defining characteristics of the company. “It’s not easy. I’m juggling the entrepreneur side… but it’s worth it in the end,” she shares. Her personal example, building a company while raising two children, has made her an advocate for more women entering tech and leadership roles in Malta.
What lies ahead
Invent 3D’s ambitions are growing beyond national borders. “Right now we’re looking into franchising. I’m hoping to see a lot of Invent 3Ds popping up all over Europe and the world,” Alexandra says.
For a small-island economy with limited physical resources, this growth model, exporting intellectual property, product design and high-value medical innovation, signals a strategic direction for the next chapter of the Maltese industrial ecosystem.
Why this matters
Invent 3D is demonstrating that advanced manufacturing does not require gigantic factories, just ingenuity, speed and a willingness to innovate from the edge. For MeetInc, the company stands as proof that Malta’s tech-driven businesses can build globally competitive models while staying rooted locally.
This feature is part of MeetInc’s ongoing effort to amplify the companies shaping Malta’s economic future. Discover more interviews, deep-dives and industry stories on meetinc.com, where Malta’s business leaders meet.
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