Increasingly older SMEs: more than 36% of entrepreneurs are over 60 years old

In Italia, not only the average population is ageing but also that of entrepreneurs; and so SMEs, which account for 99% of Italian companies and generate over 70% of employment, are led, for the most part, by over-50s and, to a large extent, also by over-60s. Especially in the North and the Centre.

The figure emerges from the Observatory on small and medium-sized enterprises, carried out by Perpethua, a company specialising in generational changeovers and m&a for SMEs, which, in collaboration with Yuno Ai, has analysed over 67 thousand Italian companies with a turnover of between EUR 2 and 25 million. The study photographs an alarming reality: the average age of entrepreneurs is 56.4 years and, in many regions, the percentage of owners over 60 exceeds 40%.

Nationwide, the report states, '36% of entrepreneurs are over 60 years old, and 20% are over 65. In regions such as Liguria and Emilia-Romagna, the situation is even more critical: here the percentage of over-60s reaches or exceeds 40% and that of over-75s exceeds 10%, with peaks of over-80s touching 5%. In Lazio there are even entrepreneurs up to 99 years of age. In Lombardy and Veneto, among the productive engines of the Italian economy, the figure of owners over 60 stands at 40% and 42% respectively, and the share of over 65s exceeds the national average, with 25% in Lombardy and 27% in Veneto'.

The trend in the southern regions, however, is below the national average. "The case of Campania stands out in particular," reads the Perpethua document, "with over-60s at 26%, over-65s at 15%, and over-75s at 4%. Sicily, Calabria and Apulia also record figures lower than the national cumulative figure in all age groups, a trajectory that, however, should not be taken for granted and that could be reversed in the future'.

The demographic trend, reasons Tobia Piovesan, ceo of Perpethua, 'is directly reflected in the resilience of the national entrepreneurial system. In the absence of a clear succession plan, many SMEs risk paralysis when the entrepreneur retires. A situation that not only jeopardises the survival of individual companies, but also impacts on employment, allied industries and the competitiveness of Italian-made products. Suffice it to say that, in Italia, only 13% of companies make it to the third generation. The ageing of entrepreneurs is not in itself a problem, indeed it is often synonymous with experience and vision; but without a plan for passing on the baton, the company risks not surviving its first generation'.