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THE ITALIAN AGENDA: POLICIES AND
STRATEGIES FOR STARTUPS
Stefano Firpo
Head of Technical Secretariat of Italian Minister of Economic Development
#RestartItalia: proper industrial policy
Entrepreneurship
Job Creation
Innovation
GROWTH
Meritocracy
Social Mobility
Building a new policy: how? Bottom-up approach and stakeholder
consultations
Public Task Force
(12 top experts)
Open Consultation with +2,000 key players
LAW 221/2012:
ITALY’S “STARTUP ACT”
Definition of «innovative startup»
a) established for no longer than 48 months
b) reside or be subject to taxation in Italy
c) turnover lower than 5 million € (around 6.4 million $)
d) it does not distribute profits
e) its core business consists of innovative goods or services
of significant technological value
f) it does not originate from a merger, demerger or
divestment process
g) and 15% of its costs are related to R&D;
OR at least one third of the team is made up of people who
either hold a PhD or are PhD candidates at an Italian or
foreign university or have conducted research for at least
three years or at least two thirds of the team is made up of
people holding a Master’s degree;
OR it is the owner or the licensee of a patent or a
registered software
#RestartItalia: main support measures
Significant cuts in red tape
Innovative startups are registered online through
self-certification
No fees due to Chambers of Commerce for the
registration of any kind of document
Flexible corporate management tools:
S.r.l. = S.p.a.
Zero tax regime for companies suffering
systematic losses
Fail-fast mechanism
#RestartItalia: main support measures
Tailor made labour law
Flexible labour contracts applicable for the whole startup’s life cycle
Variable pay depending on the startup’s performance
Workers & consultants can be payed with stock options & work for equity (taxable as capital gain!)
35% tax credit on all costs for hiring highly-qualified personnel
#RestartItalia: main support measures
Incentives for funding & investment
Robust tax relief on investments into startups’ equity by angel investors, VC and corporates
Startups can raise money through equity crowdfunding online portals (1st tailor-made law on an international level)
Free, fast-track public guarantee on bank loans, covering 80% of the lent sum
Visa for extra-EU citizens willing to set up an innovative startup in Italy
Centralized procedure (ISV Technical Committee)
The Committee evaluates the application (CV + business model) within 30 days
Financial resources for at least EUR 50,000 are required
Process entirely managed online, through a dedicated website: italiastartupvisa.mise.gov.it
Attracting global talents: #ItaliaStartupVisa
Nurturing high-tech startups
220 million EUR made available for zero interest rate startup loans
Lending covers up to 80% of investment programs amounting up to 1,5 million EUR
Target: innovative startups and individuals willing to set up one within 60 days, including extra-EU citizens holding a Startup Visa
Fast-track for programs financed for at least 30% with capital provided by qualified investors
Boosting innovation: #Smart&Start
More than 2,700 high-tech startups: 58% located in
Northern, 21% in Central and 21% in Southern Italy
Sectors: 80% operate in services, 18% in industry & craftsmanship, 2% in trade
600 million euro turnover with over 9,000
employees
Online database: startup.registroimprese.it
The Italian Startup Ecosystem
31 certified incubators (21 in Northern Italy)
30 employees and 3 million euro turnover per company
Incubators/accelerators
2,755 new startups
105 euro mln of additional credit lines
secured to 200 innovative startups
31 certified incubators
First startup visas being issued
10 equity crowdfunding portals
First tax incentive being granted for highly
qualified personnel and equity investments
Results so far
√ Made in Italy: a key driver for the scaling-up of your
startup
√ High-quality and competitive skills
√ Grassroots manufacturing culture (fast and cheap
prototyping)
√ Artistic and cultural heritage is an untapped asset
√ Italy is a gateway to strategic markets
√ Italy’s lifestyle as an asset to enhance working
environment
√ Advanced consumption habits, with opportunities for
expansion for innovative products and services
Strenghts
Poor social recognition of the entrepreneur’s role
Specialized finance still underdeveloped (especially VC in expansion rounds)
Lack of dialogue & interaction between traditional companies & startups (acqui-hiring, procurement, R&D outsourcing, exit)
Education & Research still segregated from business (technology transfer, patents)
Excessive number of public & private incubators/accelerators, usually not specialized in high value services (just real estate services)
The ecosystem is very fragmented and overly individualistic
Weaknesses
Instill entrepreneurial culture and innovation in schools (in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research)
Develop and internationalize VC and corporate VC financing, especially for mature investment rounds (refinancing of VC Fund of Funds held by the Italian Investment Fund)
Facilitate networking between traditional companies and startups (tax credit on contracted R&D activities)
Foster cross-fertilization within universities (4 “Contamination Labs” already launched in southern Italy)
Promote networking between incubators, institutions, research centers and financial institutions (we need to develop a stronger team work attitude)
Introduce greater coordination between public intervention at national and regional level (new guidelines)
Spend EU funds more effectively (supporting startups in the participation in European tenders)
Next steps in our agenda
GEC 2015 – 16-19 March 2015, Milan
The Global Entrepreneurship Congress is an inter-disciplinary gathering of startup champions from around the world where entrepreneurs,
investors, researchers, thought leaders and policymakers work together to help bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand
human welfare
EXPO MILANO 2015 – 1 May - 31 October 2015
Expo Milano 2015 is a non-commercial Universal Exposition with very unique and innovative features. It is an incredible social and
entrepreneurial process which gathers a large number of important players from all over the world to contribute to the themes of Feeding
the Planet and Energy for Life
Upcoming international events in Italy
