CDP Group meets Italian Mid Caps to support internationalisation
22 July 2019, Rome
Following the launch event last April in Bologna, Officina Italia’s second edition was held in Milan. This was the CDP Group’s programme aimed at bringing together Italian companies to share experiences and listen to the needs of companies, in order to bring the Group’s offering closer to their real needs. The second meeting focused on export, internationalisation and international cooperation and saw the participation of about 20 companies, mainly Mid-Corporate.
During the meeting, introduced by Nunzio Tartaglia, Head of the CDP Imprese Department, Stefano Nicoletti, Head of the International Production System Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Antonino Laspina, Director of Marketing Coordination of ICE, presented the institutional support tools offered to Italian companies entering foreign markets.
Simonetta Acri and Michal Ron of SACE and Giulio Dal Magro of CDP also took part to illustrate the Group’s initiatives for the foreign growth of companies. These include the strengthening of the domestic and international network and synergies with the institutional interventions of the Italian System, the development of an end-to-end offering, the digitalisation and simplification of products and services, education and export culture programmes, promotion and business matching activities and opportunities for Italian companies in developing countries.
Afterwards, three discussion panels discussed the push strategy and business matching, with a focus on Latin America; on the geographical areas for growth, with a focus on China and Asia-Pacific countries; on international cooperation in the private sector, with a focus on Africa.
The company representatives provided testimonials and ideas on the expectations of the role of the CDP Group and the support of the Country System, sharing specific training and information needs. On the part of the companies, the importance of having a focal point of reference for entering new markets that offer opportunities for development has also emerged. During 2019, Officina Italia’s schedule will include other meetings dedicated to specific themes and a plenary event at the end of the year.
The Officina Italia initiative is part of a broader CDP Group project to support Mid Caps, which also includes the recent signing of an agreement between CDP and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to promote investment by Italian Mid Caps. The agreement provides for a €200 million low-interest loan to CDP from the EIB, through which CDP will be able to finance companies in all sectors, with a focus on research and development, manufacturing and agri-food. The financing may be provided through a direct loan, or through the purchase by CDP of bonds and mini-bonds issued by companies.