Italian companies in difficulty abroad between duties, bureaucracy, competition and Italian sounding? Simest, a company that with Sace forms the export and internationalization hub of the Cdp Group, has just closed a record-breaking 2019 in terms of funding for the internationalization of almost 700 Italian companies, mostly SMEs. . THE total amount allocated in the last calendar year was 275 million, 13% more than in 2018: "The beneficiary companies - Simest said in a note - thanks to the new resources they were able to enter and strengthen themselves in 50 foreign countries, promoting Made in Italy in the world”.
See the regional distribution of the 700 companies that have decided to use Simest funding to internationalize excel the Lombardy region (171 companies, 64 million euros). Veneto (144 companies, 61 million euros) and Lazio (56 companies, 32 million) are also on the podium. Followed by: Piedmont (53 companies, 21 million); Emilia Romagna (52 companies, 20 million); Tuscany (42 companies, 13 million); Campania (40 companies, 13 million); Puglia (36 companies, 14 million); Marche (31 companies, 11 million); Abruzzo (20 companies, 12 million); Friuli Venezia Giulia (12 companies, 4 million); Sicily (15 companies, 3 million); Umbria (7 companies, 1 million); Trentino Alto Adige (6 companies, 3 million); Liguria (5 companies, 1 million); Calabria (2 companies, 0,5 million); Basilicata (3 companies, 0,5 million); Molise (1 company, 0,5 million); Sardinia (1 company, 0,2 million) and Valle d'Aosta (again only one company, which only asked for 70.000 euros).
On the front of the geographical destination of the projects instead, according to the data provided by Simest, Italian companies have focused on both neighboring countries – such as Albania, Tunisia, Switzerland, Bosnia-Herzegovina – but also on more distant areas: from Brazil, to Australia, from China, to South Africa, from Russia to Nigeria. Finally, as regards the type of financing requested, the most popular instrument (371 contractualized transactions), was the 'Capitalisation', ie a medium-long term loan dedicated exclusively to exporting SMEs. This is followed by (193) the 'Insertion on Foreign Markets' loan, which covers the expenses for opening a first commercial structure abroad.
The third instrument requested is the 'Fiere, Mostra e Missioni di Sistema' (186) loan, thanks to which SMEs can cover all expenses relating to participation in this type of event and make their brand and products known throughout the world. There is also interest in the products 'Feasibility Studies' (36) and 'Technical Assistance' (14) which - respectively - allow the company to evaluate the opportunity to make commercial or productive investments and to train dedicated personnel. Finally, a total of six applications were accepted on the newborn 'E-Commerce' and 'Temporary Export Manager' loans: the first opens up the path of electronic commerce to companies, the second finances the inclusion in the company of a professional figure specialized for the time necessary for the realization of the international development project.
