SMART&START ITALIA – New funds allocated by MIMIT

SMART&START ITALIA is the incentive promoted by the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy which supports the birth and growth of innovative startups throughout the national territory.

They can apply for financing:

• Small innovative startups, established no more than 60 months

• Teams of natural persons who want to set up an innovative startup in Italy, even if resident abroad, or foreign citizens in possession of the “startup Visa”

• Foreign companies that undertake to establish at least one headquarters on Italian territory

The loan supports investment projects with expenses between 100,000 euros and 1.5 million euros, for the purchase of investment goods, services, personnel expenses, marketing and working capital, useful for the development of the project.

Among the eligible expenses we highlight, among other things, the costs relating to trademarks, patents, licenses and rights relating to the use of industrial property rights.

The measure offers zero-rate financing, without any guarantee, covering 80% of eligible expenses. Tale percentuale può salire al 90% se la startup è costituita interamente da donne e/o da giovani sotto i 36 anni, oppure se tra i soci è presente un esperto col titolo di dottore di ricerca italiano (o equivalente) che lavora all’estero e vuole rientrare in Italia.

Furthermore, startups with operational headquarters in the regions of the seismic crater of Central Italy, in Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily can enjoy a non-repayable contribution equal to 30% of the loan and thus repay only 70% of the funding received.

In June 2023, MIMIT refinanced the measure with 108 million euros.

The incentive is available at the counter: there are no rankings or deadlines.

Applications can be sent exclusively online through the Invitalia web platform.

For more information:

https://www.invitalia.it/cosa-facciamo/creiamo-nuove-aziende/smartstart-italia/cose