The foreign ministry on Wednesday said it welcomed the European Commission's green light for Italy's 191.5 billion euro plan to propel post-pandemic economic recovery and said it will allocate 1.2 billion euros of the funds to help small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) export.
At least 4,000 SMEs will benefit from the initiative spearheaded by the foreign ministry, which will give priority to companies based in southern Italy and to female and young entrepreneurs, the ministry said in a statement.
The project will aim to help to Italian firms export while fostering the digitalisation, innovation and sustainability of SMEs to boost their presence and competitiveness on international markets (key objectives of the European Union's 750 billion recovery fund), the statement said.
The ministry is already working with service provider SIMEST to get the initiative off the ground so firms can present their proposals as soon as Italy's recovery plan (NRRP) is formally approved "in all likelihood at the next ECOFIN Council in mid-July," the statement ended.
