“Microcapitalised” cooperatives, those that have a share capital of less than 10 thousand Euros – less than the minimum for a traditional limited liability company - always represent the absolute majority of active cooperatives in Italy. In fact, 74,6% of cooperatives have a share capital of less than 10 thousand Euros (2012).
Among the active cooperatives set up in the years of the crisis (since 2008), those with share capital of less than 10 thousand Euros account for 86,4% of the total. Although the incidence of micro-capitalised cooperatives on the total of cooperatives is significant, the economic and patrimonial weight is, on the other hand, very limited. In particular, the aggregate production value of cooperatives with share capital of less than 10 thousand euros is equal to 15,4% of the total (less than 19 billion euros compared to the total of 122).
Invested capital represents 15,9% of the total (21,6 billion compared to the total of 136). The aggregate shareholders' equity does not exceed 7,6% of the total (less than 2,3 billion compared to the total of 30,2). The aggregate share capital does not exceed 2,4% of the total (just over 100 million euros compared to the total of 4,3 billion euros).
At the territorial level, the picture of microcapitalization is very heterogeneous. In some areas of the Center (lower Lazio, in particular), in the South (both in the Tyrrhenian area and in the Adriatic and Ionian areas) and in the islands (particularly in Sardinia) there is a high incidence of cooperatives with share capital of less than 10 thousand Euro (over 80% of active cooperatives).
On the other hand, there are some areas in the North (particularly Emilia Romagna – Ravenna, Reggio Emilia, Forlì Cesena -) where the phenomenon of micro-capitalization is minor (less than 50% of active cooperatives have a share capital of less than 10 thousand EUR).
Among the cooperatives active in the years of the crisis (active in 2008 and also in 2012), those with share capital of less than 10 thousand Euros decreased by 3,4%. Overall, the share capital increased by +19,6%, although the change shows significant differences between the various territorial areas. In particular, in some areas the aggregate share capital of active cooperatives almost doubled between 2008 and 2012. In others, however, there was an erosion of share capital among active cooperatives during the crisis years.
