According to the report produced by the Directorate-General for Industrial Policy, Competitiveness and SMEs of MISE, in collaboration with MedioCredito Centrale, since inception the Guarantee Fund for SMEs has managed 28,368 financing operations, providing guarantees on € 6.8 billion of granted loans to innovative Italian startups and SMEs and guaranteeing over € 5.3 billion of those loans.
Indeed, innovative startups and SMEs wishing to apply for funding can benefit from the Guarantee Fund for SMEs coverage through a bank free of charge, following a highly simplified procedure (essentially, MedioCredito Centrale, the entity managing the Fund, does not make any additional credit assessment beyond what already carried out by the bank).
The guarantee covers up to 80% of the loan, which can amount to up to € 5 million per company. This amount can be used through one or more transactions, up to the set cap, without limiting the number of transactions that can be made.
INNOVATIVE STARTUPS
As of 31 December 2024, the Guarantee Fund for SMEs has managed 19,421 operations toward innovative startups, representing a potential total amount of loans of more than € 3.8 billion (+12% compared to the previous year).
Then, the total operations authorised by the Fund and resulted in a loan were 16,969, for a total fund coverage and disbursement of over € 3 billion (+11% compared to the previous year).
The innovative startups that have obtained bank loans through the Guarantee Fund were 8,046; some have received more than one loan (so the total number of operations is higher). Overall, the average amount per operation is € 180k, with an average duration of the loans of about 59.7 months.
INNOVATIVE SMEs
As of 31 December 2024, the Guarantee Fund for SMEs has managed 8,947 operations toward innovative SMEs, representing a potential total amount of loans of more than € 3 billion (+15% compared to the previous year).
Then, the total operations authorised by the Fund and resulted in a loan were 8,158 (91% of the total). The operations involved 2,308 companies, with a total fund disbursement of approx. € 2.7 billion.
The average value per operation is approx. € 335k, while the average duration of the loan is around 47.5 months.
For more info on the Italian Innovative Startup: Legal framework for innovative start-ups
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For the detailed analysis, the full Report (in Italian) is available at the following link: https://www.mimit.gov.it/images/stories/documenti/42esimo_rapporto_Fondo-di-Garanzia-startup_e_PMI_innovative_IV_trimestre_2024.pdf