"Winning Enterprises": focus on 10 Eastern European entrepreneurial excellences
"Winning Enterprises", Intesa Sanpaolo’s program for promoting SMEs, dedicates the final stage of its roadshow to 10 foreign businesses from Eastern Europe’s economic and cultural landscape. These companies have distinguished themselves by their ability to innovate and grow through ESG-oriented strategies.
The initiative, resulting from synergies between Intesa Sanpaolo's International Banks and Banca dei Territori divisions, aims to accelerate the development of an international network capable of attracting foreign investments to Italy and further enhancing the global value of Made in Italy.
“The Central and South Eastern European market is among those with the highest growth potential for our companies in terms of exports, posting an increase of 34% between 2019 and 2023. Today, enhancing the value of Italian and foreign SMEs means, for Intesa Sanpaolo, expressing the support of intragroup synergies, accompanying the development of Italian companies operating abroad and foreign companies operating in our country, creating connections in an increasingly fruitful logic of export chains"
Stefano Barrese, Head of Intesa Sanpaolo's Banca dei Territori Division
“The rapid development of the economic and social fabric of Central and South Eastern European countries sees Italy as a reference Partner, a role witnessed by trade export flows to our country growing by over 44% in the period 2019-2023. In this context Intesa Sanpaolo, with more than 8 billion in loans provided by the International Banks Division, supports companies in their development path towards stable and sustainable growth"
Paola Papanicolaou, Head of Intesa Sanpaolo's International Banks Division
All 150 Winning Enterprises featured in the 2024 edition were selected for initiating projects or achieving significant results in economic value and social impact, innovation and research, digital and ecological transition, export and internationalization, generational transition and business consolidation, training, and welfare. Together with project partners, the Bank will provide these companies with the tools to grow, including internationally, in sustainability, innovation, digital transition, and strategic financing.
Launched for the first time in 2019, the "Winning Enterprises" program has so far received around 14,000 self-nominations, including 4,000 for the current edition. These companies collectively employ 150,000 people and generate approximately €35 billion in revenue.
Examples of a sustainable and innovative corporate culture, the 10 Winning Enterprises featured in the 15th stage are:
Ovartej (Mosonmagyaróvár - Hungary) operating in the agri-food industry, Aunde (Jagodina - Serbia) and Cecomp (Mirna Peč - Slovenia) working in the automotive sector, Diva Divani (Vranje - Serbia) in furniture and design, Gena Logistik (Bratislava - Slovakia) in construction, Dprint Europe (Tirana - Albania) specialised in packaging, Walter Tosto (Bucharest - Romania) working in the industrial sector, Hipac Romania (Dragomiresti-Vale - Romania) in plastics, Ediltec (Lepoglava - Croatia) in production, and Seka Hydropower (Burrel - Albania) in energy services.
According to a recent survey of over 800 Intesa Sanpaolo employees involved in the internationalization processes of Italy’s economic fabric, foreign markets are expected to make a significant contribution to the growth of the Italian economy. Among those with the highest potential are Eastern Europe, particularly Central and Eastern Europe (CEE; Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia) and Southeastern Europe (SEE; Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Romania, and Serbia).
In these regions, Italian companies are anticipated to further develop their export activities and expand their production or commercial presence through foreign branches.
In recent years, the Italian economy has performed better than the average growth of the euro area. An important boost came from the excellent results achieved in international markets, where Italian SMEs, which account for more than half of our exports, stood out. Also contributing to the good dynamics of the Italian economy was the strong recovery of investments, which increased by 35.7 % at constant Italian prices between 2016 and 2023. Indeed, we did significantly better than our main competitors: Germany stood at +4.5%. This is a significant change of pace compared to the recent past: suffice it to say that between 2008 and 2016, our investments had fallen by 22.4%, while those in Germany had risen by 9.9%. Industry 4.0 (from 2017) and Superbonus (from 2021) explain this performance, a synthesis of the leap in construction (+47.1% in the period 2016-2023), but also of the dynamics of Italian investments in machinery, means of transport and ICT (+29.3%) and in intangible goods (R&D and software; +20.2%).
After the slowdown observed between 2023 and 2024, next year we expect a recovery of the Italian economy that will rely on the contribution of consumption and investment, thanks to the return of inflation, lower interest rates and the realisation of the NRRP investments. 80% of actual NRRP spending will be concentrated in the three-year period 2024-2026, with potentially very positive effects on the revitalisation of infrastructure and digital and green transitions and, ultimately, on the potential GDP growth rate.
Looking ahead, an important contribution to the growth of the Italian economy may come from foreign markets. Those with the highest potential include Eastern Europe and, in particular, Central Eastern Europe (CEE; Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia) and South Eastern Europe (SEE; Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Romania and Serbia). These are the findings of a recent survey of more than 800 Intesa Sanpaolo employees who monitor the globalisation processes of the Italian economy. In these areas, Italian companies are expected to further develop their export activities and their production or commercial presence with foreign subsidiaries.
Moreover, trade and production links with these countries are already significant. In 2023, the total stock of Italian foreign direct investment (FDI) in CEE and SEE countries amounted to €43.4 billion; of this, €22.8 billion concerned the CEE area and €20.6 billion the SEE economies. Moreover, in 2023, Italian exports to these markets rose to €64.7 billion, 34% more than in 2019. We grew in all countries and, in value, especially in Poland, which is by far the market that absorbs the largest share of our exports (up to €19.8 billion, from €13.5); followed at a distance by Romania (€10.2 billion), the Czech Republic (€8.4 billion), Slovenia (€6 billion),Hungary (€5.8 billion), Croatia (€5.5 billion) and Slovakia (€4 billion), ahead of Serbia (€2.3 billion), Albania (€1.8 billion) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (€0.9 billion). At the same time, Italian imports from these countries rose to €60.5 billion, a 44% increase over 2019. Import flows increased almost across the board, the only exception being goods from Serbia. Poland is the country from which we import the most (€16.1 billion of imports in 2023), followed by Romania (€9.6 billion), the Czech Republic (€9.2 billion),Hungary (€8.5 billion), Slovenia (€5.9 billion), Slovakia (€4.7 billion), Croatia (€2.9 billion),Albania (€1.6 billion), Serbia (€1.4 billion) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (€0.7 billion).
Overall, our trade surplus in 2023 was €4.2 billion. Our trade balance is in surplus with Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina; it is in deficit with the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. In these markets, the most significant Italian export flows concern the mechanical engineering industry, which alone accounts for around €22 billion; followed by the fashion system, transport, food and beverages, chemicals, rubber and plastics and electrical engineering. Our imports, on the other hand, see transport in first place (€12.6 billion in 2023), followed at a distance by electrical engineering, the metal industry, the fashion system, food and beverages, mechanics, rubber and plastics, electronics, agricultural products and chemicals.
In the first seven months of 2024, there was a slowdown in our trade with the CEE and SEE areas: exports increased slightly (+1%), while imports fell slightly (-4%). After a still weak second half of the year, trade should show signs of recovery during 2025, thanks to more favourable domestic demand conditions. In particular, in CEE and SEE countries, the expected reduction in interest rates should favour investment and household consumption expenditure, with the latter also benefiting from the recovery of purchasing power in the wake of wage increases and moderating inflation. Moreover, in the next two years, important support for the economic growth of these economies will come from the resources of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs).
Project partners
One of the distinctive levers of the Winning Enterprises programme is the creation of an ecosystem of first-rate players to support business growth paths. Training, specialised expertise, non-financial solutions, advisory and knowledge of thematic contexts characterise the work of the Winning Enterprises partner team: Bain & Company, ELITE and Gambero Rosso, Cerved and Microsoft Italia, Coldiretti, NATIVA and Circularity, together with Digit'ed, Tinexta and AICCON, new partners of the 2024 edition.
Last updated 30 October 2024 at 12:17:00
