According to the 2023 report of Social Innovation Monitor (SIM), there are 262 incubators and accelerators in Italy (10.5% more than last year), of which 64 incubators are certified by the relevant Chamber of Commerce (the list of accredited incubators is available at this link).
Approx. 55% of these companies are located in northern Italy, mainly in Lombardy (23%) and Emilia Romagna (12%). 9% of them are located in Lazio. Private sponsors own 65% of the Italian incubators and accelerators; 23% are public-private partnerships, while the remaining 12% are wholly owned and managed by public bodies.
In 2022, the average turnover of Italian incubators and accelerators was € 2.01 million, and the median was € 540 thousand, a bit lower than the previous year (€ 600 thousand). 65% of them were established in the last ten years. The industry has consolidated in recent years.
Incubators and accelerators are generally small in terms of employees. Around 80% of the analysed sample have 8 or fewer employees, with an average of 7.45 employees.
The primary services the Italian organisations provide are networking, managerial support and training and support in search of funding programs. 86% of incubators and accelerators declared they also carry out activities not directly related to incubation and acceleration activities, such as participation in projects and calls for proposals, event management and promotion, fee-based scouting and open innovation activities for corporate companies and/or other entities, and coworking services.
If we look at the incubated/accelerated startups, the total number of incubated/accelerated teams and companies was 2,871, selected out of 12,414 applications. These numbers are related to 82 incubators and accelerators participating in the SIM survey (out of 262). Therefore, the average number of applications and incubated/accelerated companies are 153.3, made by, on average, 35.4 teams or companies, whilst the median numbers are 50 applications and 19 companies.
Compared to the pandemic, there has been a gradual return to physical space. During 2022, the average value of square metres made available for incubation activities almost tripled (over 8000 square metres). Also, compared to last year, the funding received by incubated companies increased, reaching an average value of more than € 3 million for the startups supported by each incubator (from € 1.97 million in 2021).
The analysis shows that one incubator/accelerator out of two supports companies with significant social or environmental impact. More than 60%of incubators/accelerators support companies with a significant social or environmental impact. Moreover, more than half of the incubators/accelerators use specific methodologies to measure their social or environmental impact as an organisation. The most represented sectors for incubated/accelerated startups with significant social or environmental impact are health and wellness (including sport) and community development.
Finally, a focus was devoted to ecosystem inclusiveness and gender equality. We are still far from gender parity in the ecosystem. In 2022, only 35% of Italian incubator and accelerator ecosystem employees were female.
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For more info (in Italian) visit https://socialinnovationmonitor.com/italy-incubators/