Innovative entrepreneurship is growing in Italy. Italy is in fact changing its approach to innovation, as evidenced by the acceleration of digitalization among Italians during the pandemic. There are 14,032 startups registered in the register of companies, an increase of 540 units compared to the previous quarter (+ 3.3%), constituting 3.6% of all newly established joint-stock companies. This is the photograph that emerges from the analysis of the data of the third quarter of 2021 on startups and innovative SMEs, which the Ministry of Economic Development publishes with the report created together with Unioncamere and InfoCamere and the Report of the Guarantee Fund drawn up in collaboration with Mediocredito Centrale. .
The majority or, 75.2% of innovative startups, provide services to companies in digital sectors, (of which 37.9% in the production of software and IT consulting, 14.2% in R&D activities, 8, 6% in information services activities), the percentages for manufacturing are lower than 16.4% and only 3.1% work in commerce. There are 2,600 innovative startups with a prevalence of young people (under 35), 18.5% of the total. This is a figure of four percentage points higher than that found among new non-innovative companies (15.1).
According to the research, innovative startups are significantly supported by the Guarantee Fund for SMEs: from 2013 to the third quarter of 2021, the Fund authorized 11,788 financing transactions for almost two billion euros, in favor of 6,074 startups (some received more of a loan). In the same period, there were 4,539 transactions for innovative SMEs, with values up compared to the second quarter. The Guarantee Fund guaranteed loans to 1,263 innovative SMEs for a total of over one billion and three hundred million euro in loans, with an increase of approximately 100 million euro compared to the previous quarter. Overall, the Fund has so far guaranteed around 3.4 billion euros in favor of innovative Startups and SMEs. From the analysis of the data it emerges that innovative companies are growing throughout the national territory: Lombardy is confirmed at the national helm with 3,755 innovative startups (26.8% of the national total, in particular the city of Milan alone weighs 18.8 %). Lazio (with 1,633 startups, 11.6% of the total) and Campania (with 1,245 startups, 8.9% of the total) follow, confirming an entrepreneurial ferment spread throughout the country.