Date:
3 May 2017
Statement by the President of Confindustria Lombardia, Alberto Ribolla
Milan, 3 May 2017 – The second edition of the ‘Central-Northern SME Report 2017’, produced by Confindustria and Cerved, provides an extremely significant snapshot of the business landscape in Central and Northern Italy. Many positive signs have emerged, confirming that this macro-region, despite its well-known territorial and industrial differences, remains the engine of the national economy. The report also highlights the leading role played by Lombardy within this macro-region, confirming its status as the most competitive region in Italy and one of the most competitive in Europe.
Lombardy alone is home to a quarter of all Italian SMEs (35,000), followed by Veneto (15,500) and Emilia-Romagna (14,000). Our region also has the highest proportion of medium-sized enterprises (19.9%), followed by Piedmont (19.2%) and Trentino-Alto Adige (19.2%).
The Central-Northern SME Report also highlights the end of the decline in SME numbers: while the national average in 2015 saw a 1.8% increase in new SMEs, thanks to growth across most regions, Lombardy once again leads the way with a 2% increase.
Lombardy’s employment figures are also significant: out of a total of 3.8 million people employed in SMEs nationwide, half a million are employed in Lombardy.
Analysis regarding innovation in startups and SMEs also places Lombardy at the top of the podium: the region with the highest number of innovative startups is Lombardy (2,840), followed by Lazio (1,658) and Veneto (1,050).
For Confindustria Lombardia, these figures not only confirm the many strengths of our region but also represent the solid foundations upon which to build Lombardy’s future.
The time has come for Lombardy to accelerate, and SMEs can make a massive contribution to meeting the great challenges ahead and increasing competitiveness. From this perspective, it is essential to focus on scaling up, clustering, prioritising know-how and training human capital to meet the needs of a technology-driven labour market, increasing investment, and successfully integrating into new Global Value Chains.
The report can be downloaded at the following link:
Central-Northern SME Report 2017
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