Veneto: over 7 billion from CDP over four years for the region

These are objectives that CDP and Confindustria aim to support by working to develop new alternative finance instruments and measures to facilitate access to credit, which will also involve the use of public and third-party resources, as well as EU funding. The collaboration will also promote the use of equity instruments (thereby bolstering the growth of private equity and venture capital), the development of initiatives for subsidised credit and the strengthening of the national guarantee scheme, as well as housing solutions on sustainable terms for low-income employees with work-related mobility needs.

CDP and Confindustria will then be able to work together to support the international growth of Veneto-based companies through initiatives dedicated to exports and internationalisation, thereby boosting the main strategic local and national supply chains. Finally, the business community will be encouraged to participate in projects focused on international cooperation, with a particular focus on markets across the African continent.

The Venice leg of the roadshow was attended by CDP Chairman Giovanni Gorno Tempini, Chief Executive Dario Scannapieco, Confindustria’s Vice-President for Credit, Angelo Camilli, Vice-President of Confindustria for Credit, Finance and Taxation; Paola Carron, President of Confindustria Veneto Est; and Raffaele Boscaini, President of Confindustria Veneto.

“In a region that boasts one of the country’s most dynamic economic landscapes, it is essential to foster a constant and meaningful dialogue with businesses, working in close collaboration with local institutions, in order to create the best possible conditions for the region’s further development,” said Giovanni Gorno Tempini. “ “With this in mind, CDP looks to the future with a long-term vision, aimed at enhancing the productive and social capital of the Veneto region, transforming its potential into concrete and lasting opportunities for the country as a whole,”

Dario Scannapieco highlighted the industrial strength of the Veneto region, “one of the country’s main economic and industrial driving forces, characterised by a dynamic business community focused on innovation and exports”. The CEO highlighted CDP’s strong presence in the region, with €7.1 billion allocated over three years to support businesses, essential infrastructure and public bodies in the region, reaching over 13,000 companies and providing funding to a total of 248 local authorities.

The Protocol signed between Confindustria and CDP was drawn up “to address the major challenges facing Italian businesses: credit, capitalisation, innovation, internationalisation, the energy transition, scaling up, and, increasingly, sustainable housing for workers”, stated Angelo Camilli. This last issue, which is particularly important for the Veneto region, is one of Confindustria’s strategic priorities and one of the pillars of the Protocol, Camilli emphasised, noting that, according to research by the Confindustria Research Centre, Venice is among the areas where the cost of rent exceeds labour productivity. “The housing crisis is indeed a social issue, but it is also an economic and industrial one, because the shortage of affordable, quality housing hinders workers’ mobility, makes it more difficult to attract skilled workers from abroad, penalises the establishment of new production facilities and reduces the attractiveness of local areas.”

Regarding the Government’s ‘Piano Casa’ Decree-Law, which aims to build and make available 100,000 affordable homes over the next ten years, Camilli said that ‘it is a step in the right direction; however, for it to work effectively, it must be implemented swiftly, it must also reach small and medium-sized local areas and municipalities (where the need is often most urgent), and it must include tax measures and financial guarantees capable of attracting market operators and private capital’.

According to Paola Carron, “the challenge of growing and competing today hinges on a structural strengthening of capital and governance, particularly for SMEs. This requires a corporate culture increasingly geared towards scaling up, through networks, mergers and the opening up of share capital to facilitate investment and innovation. In this context, the agreement between Confindustria and CDP, and the group’s commitment to allocate over 60 per cent of its resources to businesses, represent a strategic choice and an essential lever of industrial policy, including for the Veneto region. Growth is a collective mission in which we must all play a leading role: institutions, business associations and trade unions, banks and the financial sector. As Confindustria Veneto Est, we feel this responsibility deeply, so that it yields measurable, widespread and lasting results for the benefit of the economy and our regions.”

To compete on global markets, we need to step up investment – particularly in the green and digital transitions – and have access to flexible and accessible financial instruments, as Raffaele Boscaini, president of Confindustria Veneto, points out: ‘The growth of our businesses cannot rely solely on ordinary credit, which is essential for day-to-day operations but is no longer sufficient at a strategic level. A cultural shift is needed to encourage the wider use of equity, but above all, a major systemic initiative is required that involves all stakeholders – social partners, banks, credit guarantee consortia and investors – around a shared credit plan.”