La fifteenth stage of “Winning Enterprises”, the program of Intesa Sanpaolo aimed at promoting the small and medium-sized businesses, has highlighted 10 foreign companies that have distinguished themselves for their capacity for innovation and growth. This edition, the fifth of the program, introduced for the first time a meeting dedicated exclusively to the best companies from Eastern Europe. The roadshow – which started in spring and has reached the last of the 15 overall stages – will be completed in early 2025.
Since the program began in 2019, “Imprese Vincenti” has welcomed the self-candidacy of around 14 thousand companies, with 4.000 in the current edition alone. The initiative aims to create an international supply chain capable of attracting investments in our country and promoting Made in Italy at a global level. Intesa Sanpaolo has thus strengthened the synergies between the International Banks and Banca dei Territori Divisions, respectively headed by Paola Papanicolaou e Stefano Barrese, reaffirming its commitment to supporting the growth of companies, both Italian and foreign, with the aim of increasing competitiveness.
Foreign “Winning Companies”
The 10 foreign “Winning Companies” include: Ovartej (Hungary) in the agri-food sector, Aunde (Serbia) and Cecomp (Slovenia) active in the automotive sector, and companies such as Diva sofas (Serbia) in furniture, Gena Logistics (Slovakia) in construction, Dprint Europe (Albania) specialized in packaging, Walter Quick (Bucharest – Romania) works in the industrial sector, Hipac Romania (Dragomiresti-Vale – Romania) in plastic, Ediltec (Lepoglava – Croatia) in production, and Dry hydro power (Burrel – Albania) in energy services.
The selected companies were evaluated for their results in areas such as innovation, digital transition and sustainability, an increasingly relevant topic in the current economic context. The Bank will provide the “Winning Companies” with support for sustainable growth and internationalization, helping to develop the economic potential of the territory.
Intesa Sanpaolo's "Imprese Vincenti" program continues to support the growth of SMEs, creating an ecosystem of Partner such as Bain & Company, Elite, Microsoft Italia, Cerved, Nativa, Gambero Rosso, Circularity, Coldiretti, Digit'ed, Tinexta and Aiccon, to provide training and strategic support.
Analysis of the economic context by the Intesa Sanpaolo Research Department
In recent years, theItalian economy showed signs of recovery, exceeding the average growth of the Eurozone. Italian SMEs, responsible for more than half of our export, have been the protagonists of this recovery, supported by a 35,7% increase in investments from 2016 to 2023. A significantly better result than the +4,5% of Germany. This progress has been fueled by initiatives such as Industry 4.0 and the Superbonus, which have stimulated a significant increase in the construction sector (+47,1%) and in investments in machinery and ICT (+29,3%). However, a slowdown in the short term, with a possible recovery in 2025, supported by more robust domestic demand and significant public investments.
Le opportunity in foreign markets, particularly in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe, are looking interesting. In 2023, exports to these countries reached 64,7 billion euros, marking an increase of 34% compared to 2019.
Furthermore, the iItalian foreign direct investments in CEE and SEE countries reached €43,4 billion in 2023, while imports rose to €60,5 billion, up 44% from 2019. However, trade is expected to slow down in 2024, with exports growing by just 1% and imports decreasing by 4%. A more favourable economic outlook, including lower interest rates and recovering purchasing power, could support a recovery in 2025.
Comments
Stefano Barrese, head of the Banca dei Territori Division of Intesa Sanpaolo, underlines the importance of the initiative: “In this edition, Imprese Vincenti extends its research mission to include the excellence of foreign SMEs that are able to seize opportunities on international markets. These companies share with our business system the ability to invest in innovation and sustainability.” Barrese also highlights the potential of the Central-South Eastern European market, defining it as “among those with the highest growth potential for our companies in terms of exports, with an increase of 34% between 2019 and 2023.” According to Barrese, “for Intesa Sanpaolo, enhancing Italian and foreign SMEs means expressing support for intragroup synergies, accompanying the development of Italian companies active abroad and foreign companies operating in our country, creating connections in an increasingly profitable logic of export supply chains”.
Paola pap smear, Head of the International Banks Division of Intesa Sanpaolo, added: “The rapid development of the economic and social fabric of the countries of Central and South Eastern Europe sees Italy as a reference Partner, a role demonstrated by the flows of commercial exports to our country growing by over 44% in the period 2019-2023. In this context, Intesa Sanpaolo, with over 8 billion in financing provided by the International Banks Division, supports companies in their development path in favor of stable and sustainable growth”.
