“The government's industrial policy towards small and medium-sized enterprises is starting to show its first results. The measures to support the economic development of Italian SMEs demonstrate that the key to growth is concentrated on three fundamental levers: innovation, modernization of corporate finance and strengthening of international projection”. These are the conclusions of a survey carried out by the Ministry of Economic Development on a representative sample of a thousand "excellent" small and medium-sized enterprises.
“The analysis – continues the note – demonstrates that the signs of recovery of most of the excellent SMEs are concentrated in a particular way in the commitment on the investment front, mainly of an innovative nature. More specifically: just over 80% of companies indicated that they had made investments in 2014 and that they intend to make them by the end of the current year. Furthermore, 96,7% and 95,4% of the sample indicate, respectively for 2014 and 2015, that they have supported or would like to support innovative investments (of products, processes and of an organizational nature)”.
At the same time, continues the Mise, "a high share of excellent SMEs (56,3%) report having carried out activities abroad in the three-year period 2012-2014, while the share of turnover exported is equal to 34,8% a peak of 43,5% in manufacturing. Finally, 38,3% of companies declared that they had directed exports towards new markets, of which 82% towards non-EU countries. The survey was carried out in May of this year, selecting from a universe of approximately 61 companies (between 10 and 250 employees) with a turnover of between 2,5 and 50 million euros - 1.000 companies that exceeded at least two of the following three requirements: have achieved R&D expenditure in the three-year period 2012-2014 , have a fair level of managerial skills (presence of at least three managers/middle managers), have made innovative investments in 2014 or planned for 2015".
