4 billion Simest fund to push SMEs abroad

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For the picscole and medium-sized enterprises and for the production chains comes a new and powerful assist. This is the 394 Fund for the internationalization of companies, whose new operations, together with the 4 billion euro dowry, will be made official next Tuesday at the Farnesina, in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani.

A non-random choice since the instrument is managed by Simest, the company of the Cassa depositi e prestiti group chaired by Pasquale Salzano and led by Regina Corradini D’Arienzo, precisely in agreement with the Maeci and will serve to ensure new life for investments for the foreign growth of SMEs.

«The resumption of the activities of the Fondo 394 – Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and owner of Maeci, explains to Il Sole 24 Ore – is the result of the government’s desire to support and strengthen the international development of Made in Italy. Through the diplomacy of growth, in fact, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs we are committed to promoting the competitiveness of our companies by providing them with a valuable instrument of subsidized finance aimed at supporting the creation of investments and strengthening the positioning of Italian products on world markets”.

The new operation of Fondo 394, as structured by Simest in connection with the Farnesina, brings with it some important innovations. The first is the support of investments for the ecological and digital transition and for the strengthening of the capital solidity of companies with an international vocation, but also, for the first time, the extension of the benefits associated with the measure to companies belonging to production chains devoted to exports and those impacted by the increase in energy costs. Not to mention the conditions dedicated to companies with direct interests in strategic areas for Made in Italy (starting with the Western Balkans) and to those located in the territories affected by the recent floods in Emilia-Romagna and neighboring territories.

Significant innovations, then, also on the front of the subsidized intervention lines which rise to six. In addition to the four already existing, but renewed in content to better intercept the needs and requirements of companies (market insertion, e-commerce, fairs and events and temporary managers), there will be two new tracks, namely digital transition or ecological and certifications and consultancy in order to support international competitiveness.