The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) represents the most impressive industrial policy intervention in Italy since the post-war period. A significant part of the €191.5 billion planned is earmarked for innovation, digitalisation and green transition - areas in which start-ups play a crucial role. But after almost three years since its approval, what has really reached Italian startups?
1. Missions relevant to start-ups
The NRP is divided into six 'missions', but not all of them directly affect the start-up universe. The most relevant are three: Digitisation and Innovation, Ecological Transition, and Education and Research.
Mission 1: Digitalisation and Innovation
This mission represents the part most directly aimed at supporting innovative entrepreneurship. Funds have been earmarked for:
- the development of territorial innovation ecosystems, i.e. public-private partnerships between universities, research centres and innovative companies;
- strengthening the national network of technology transfer hubs, often coordinated by entities such as CDP Venture Capital;
- stimulating the digitisation of SMEs, which may also include start-ups providing digital technologies or services.
Mission 2: Ecological Transition
Many resources are allocated to the green revolution, with interesting opportunities for start-ups working on:
- technologies for decarbonisation and energy efficiency;
- sustainable mobility and smart cities;
- agritech and intelligent natural resource management.
However, access to these funds for an early-stage start-up can be difficult, as they are often channelled through regional calls, industry partnerships or large public players.
Mission 4: Education and Research
This mission activated numerous projects related to applied research and technology transfer, such as:
- the creation of National Research Centres on AI, quantum computing, space economy and biotech;
- extended partnerships between universities and businesses;
- the strengthening of the fund for the creation of academic spin-offs and deeptech start-ups.
For university-born start-ups, these measures represent a concrete but not always immediate opportunity.
2. Tools and channels activated so far
Theory is one thing, grounding resources is another. From an operational point of view, the opportunities for start-ups are translated into a few main channels.
Venture Capital
Thanks to the National Innovation Fund, several venture capital companies have set up thematic accelerators, co-investment funds and mentoring programmes. The effectiveness is good, but the focus is often on already validated start-ups with a solid MVP and initial traction.
Invitalia - Smart&Start
This instrument also existed before the PNRR but has been refinanced. It offers low-interest and non-repayable loans for start-ups in the South and disadvantaged areas. However, it is notorious for its procedural complexity and long evaluation times (up to 6-9 months).
Women's Enterprise Fund
An initiative that was hugely popular, quickly running out of available funds. It offers a striking example of how high the demand is, but also of how difficult it is to plan with 'open' and non-continuous instruments.
Green New Deal Fund
It supports industrial projects and start-ups with a positive impact on the environment, but passes through SACE - the public company controlled by the Ministry of the Economy that provides financial guarantees, insurance and export credit instruments - or other financial intermediaries, making access difficult for those who do not have solid partners or established business structures.
3. Structural difficulties
In the face of much promise, Italian start-ups face far from trivial obstacles to actually accessing PNRR resources.
Long delays and bureaucracy
One of the most obvious problems is slowness: from calls to evaluation to disbursement, times can exceed nine months, an unsustainable horizon for many seed or pre-seed start-ups.
Uneven access
Start-ups with good connections to universities, incubators or experienced advisors have a huge competitive advantage. The risk is the creation of a two-speed ecosystem, where peripheral or less 'structured' realities are cut off.
Poor visibility and technical language
Many calls for tenders are poorly communicated: documentation written in PA language, fragmented portals and the absence of real advice desks make it difficult to find one's way around.
Banking intermediation
When resources pass through entities such as banks or SACE, they come up against risk criteria unsuitable for the start-up world. The result? The funds are there, but they do not reach the right recipients.
4. What is really working
Despite everything, there are positive signs that deserve attention.
Accelerators: an effective model
Among the PNRR measures that are proving to be really effective are the acceleration programmes co-financed by public funds. These pathways offer selected start-ups structured accompaniment that includes mentoring, entrepreneurial training, access to established business networks and - in some cases - an initial equity investment. They are accessible through public calls and cover verticals such as sustainability, fintech, mobility, health and industrial technology. This type of intervention allows start-ups to structure themselves quickly and validate their solutions in collaboration with industrial partners.
University collaborations and research centres
The initiatives promoted within the framework of extended partnerships and National Centres are generating a new lease of life for applied research, involving universities, research centres and companies. In addition to the funding of scientific projects, these collaborations aim to generate industrial impacts through the creation of spin-offs, the prototyping of technological solutions and shared access to advanced infrastructures (e.g. laboratories, test benches, data centres). Start-ups born in this academic-industrial context benefit from a qualified network and facilitated access to know-how and proprietary technologies. The programme can be found in the dedicated section of the PNRR of the Ministry of Universities and Research.
Internationalisation: ICE and SACE to support start-ups
Another front in which the PNRR opportunities are materialising is that of internationalisation. Two key players in this area are ICE and SACE:
- ICE - Agenzia per la promozione all'estero e l'internazionalizzazione delle imprese italiane is the government agency that supports companies (including start-up projects) in positioning themselves in global markets. It offers training, trade missions, subsidised participation in international trade fairs and programmes to accompany sales abroad. More details on services for start-ups are available on the official ICE portal.
- Through the Green New Deal and other PNRR-related instruments, SACE supports Italian start-ups and SMEs with solutions designed to foster growth abroad and sustainable transition. An overview of the services is available on the SACE page dedicated to the PNRR.
Thanks to these tools, start-ups aiming for international expansion can access targeted resources to consolidate their presence outside Italy, with a public support network that reduces scalability risks.
5. What is still missing
To complete the picture, it is essential to identify the missing elements for the NRP to really become a lever for the start-up world.
Fast channels for early-stage
We need an 'express' tool for early-stage start-ups: few funds, fast, with streamlined evaluation and risk-adapted criteria. Foreign models offer useful hints.
Continuity in funding
Many funds are distributed through deadline-driven calls, which are exhausted within hours. This system is not suited to the fluid and continuous nature of the start-up world. We need to think about over-the-counter or rolling instruments.
Territorial Coordination
Regions are often the implementers of measures, but there is no real national coordination. Some are virtuous (Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna), others lag far behind. This creates disparities of access on a geographical basis.
Conclusion
The PNRR has launched numerous potentially transformative initiatives for Italian start-ups, but many remain far removed from the operational reality of early-stage companies. For these opportunities to translate into concrete growth, greater speed, transparency and accessibility are needed. The risk, otherwise, is that the PNRR only strengthens those who were already strong, leaving out the more fragile but more promising innovation.
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