Changes and innovations within the Internationalization Fund.

Last week, some modifications to the 394/81 Fund for internationalization were published. This fund is aimed at SMEs interested in starting expansion activities abroad.

The most relevant changes affect the following funding laws:

• Law 133/08, art. 6, paragraph 2, lett. a – Subsidized financing for programs to enter foreign markets;
• Law 133/08, art. 6, paragraph 2, letter b – Subsidized funding for feasibility and pre-feasibility studies and technical assistance;
• Law 133/08, Art. 6(2)(c). – Capitalization of exporting companies;
• Law 133/08, art. 6, para. 2, lett. c2 – First participation in fairs and exhibitions.

Following the analysis of the laws, starting with the latter which represents the main novelty for the Internationalization Fund:

Law 133/08, art. 6, para. 2, lett. c2

This concerns the new law whose purpose is to finance and incentivize participation in international fairs/exhibitions in non-EU markets. Here are the key points of this regulation:

• Only SMEs with registered offices in Italy, either individually or in aggregate (ATI and Networks), are eligible for funding;
• At the time of submitting the application, the company must provide a self-declaration stating that this is their first participation in a specific fair/exhibition.;
• Fairs can only be in non-EU countries;
• The maximum amount that can be financed is €100,000 for each SME or group of SMEs with the same owner; €300,000 for a group of SMEs with different owners (€200,000 in the case of two aggregated SMEs and €300,000 in the case of three or more aggregated SMEs);
• Eligible expenses for funding include operating expenses, promotional activity expenses, and miscellaneous intervention expenses.;
• The loan may cover up to 85% of the stated expenses, and the loan term is 4 years, including a 2-year grace period; the interest rate, as with other loan programs, is very low (currently 0.51%).

Law 133/08, art. 6, paragraph 2, lett. a

For the first time, consortia of businesses (ATI and Networks) are also admitted to funding from the internationalization fund, as previously stated for funding for international trade fairs.

Law 133/08, art. 6, paragraph 2, letter b

The main changes concern the reduction of the loan repayment period, so the loan will now be for 3 years, including 1 year of pre-repayment. This loan also allows for participation either individually or aggregated.

Law 133/08, Art. 6(2)(c).

This financing, which had been on hold since December 2012 due to a lack of funds, has been resubmitted with significant modifications. These modifications concern:

• the threshold level or entry level (the index that refers to the equity solidity of SMEs) which increases from 0.65 to 0.8 for manufacturing companies (1.0 for commercial and service companies);
• the financed amount with a ceiling of €300,000 compared to the previous €500,000;
• Only SMEs that, at the time the loan is disbursed, are organized as joint-stock companies (SpA) and have foreign revenue accounting for at least 35% of total company revenue (previously 20%) are eligible.

We invite all companies interested in further information and insights on this issue to contact the Octagona team at the following email address: [email protected] or by phone: 059.9770184.

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