Business and finance: a necessary partnership for development and growth
It is not enough simply to develop cutting-edge technologies; we need to build industrial platforms capable of integrating complementary skills and organisations
Italia is a manufacturing powerhouse. But far too few of its small and medium-sized enterprises manage to make the leap from producing high-quality products to becoming industrial platforms capable of driving the consolidation of their market. This is the real challenge that will determine the competitiveness of Italian manufacturing over the next decade. And it is one that we at Boato have embraced.
Our country does not need to create new centres of excellence. It already has many. Thousands of SMEs hold positions of global leadership in highly specialised niches thanks to the expertise, innovation and manufacturing capabilities they have built up over decades of operation. The real challenge is to create the conditions that will enable these businesses to evolve, grow and compete on an international scale without losing their industrial identity. In a context where large industrial groups are expanding their operations and supply chains are becoming increasingly integrated, simply maintaining excellence is no longer enough: we need to become more robust, better organised and better equipped to drive change.
For many years, competitiveness went hand in hand with product quality. Today, that is no longer enough. The transformation of global supply chains, industrial consolidation, the rapid pace of technological change and growing international competition call for a new perspective. It is not enough simply to produce better than others.
Growth is no longer just a matter of turnover. It means acquiring complementary skills, strengthening governance, investing in innovation, developing more robust organisations and creating industrial platforms capable of generating value over time. This is the leap that many Italian SMEs are called upon to make. Mergers and acquisitions, when driven by an industrial strategy, are not an end in themselves, but a means of boosting competitiveness, expanding the technological offering and strengthening a presence on international markets.
Capital plays a decisive role in this process. For too long, the relationship between business and finance has been viewed as one of conflict. Today, however, growth requires financial instruments capable of supporting long-term industrial projects. Businesses do not just need credit: they need patient capital, capable of supporting investments, acquisitions and organisational transformations without undermining the entrepreneurial culture that has been the key to their success. The financial sector creates value when it shares the business’s objectives and helps to accelerate their implementation.
