Within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is the central administration responsible for the implementation of measure M1C2.I5, worth 1.2 billion euros, of which SIMEST is the implementing body through the refinancing of Fund 394 with resources from the NRRP.
To oversee the implementation of the measure, a Mission Structure for NRRP measure M1.C2.I5.1.1 has been established within the DGCE, which is specifically responsible for monitoring, management, reporting, and control functions.
The investment aims to support the competitiveness, innovation, and sustainability of SMEs oriented towards internationalization, with a particular focus on those in Southern Italy. Thanks to the NRRP resources channeled through Fund 394, the measure provides financial support to companies to foster their internationalization through three instruments:
- Digital and ecological transition of SMEs with an international vocation. Concessionary financing for investment aimed at fostering the digital transition of SMEs, promoting their sustainable growth and strengthening their competitiveness in foreign markets.
- Development of SMEs’ e-commerce in foreign countries (E-commerce). Concessionary financing for creating an e-commerce platform for the marketing in foreign countries of goods or services produced in Italy or under the Italian brand name. The facility is intended for the implementation of a digital investment project, which may be the creation of a new own platform, the improvement of an already existing platform, or access to a third-party space (e.g. market place).
- SME participation in international fairs and exhibitions – also in Italy – and system missions. Concessionary financing to support participation – also in Italy – in a single event, even virtual, of an international nature and with an ecological or digital profile (including a fair, an exhibition, a business mission or system mission) for the promotion of goods and/or services produced in Italy or under the Italian brand name.
For all measures, each SME could apply for a non-repayable co-financing share of the loan request:
- up to 40% of the total loan amount if the applicant has its operational headquarters in a different region of Southern Italy;
- up to 25% of the total financing amount if the applicant has its operational headquarters in a different region;
- 40% of the total resources available were reserved for SMEs in Southern Italy (“Southern Reserve”).
By the end of the third quarter (30 September 2021), the Foreign Ministry achieved the milestones envisaged by the NRRP:
- entry into force of the refinancing of the grants and loans component of Fund 394/81;
- adoption of an investment policy by the Fund’s Board of Directors (the Facilities Committee, an inter-ministerial committee chaired by the Director General for the Promotion of the Country System).
The measure set a target of providing financial support to at least 4,000 exporting SMEs by December 31, 2021. The response from Southern Italian companies was particularly positive, with €500 million in requested funds, allowing the “Southern Reserve” to be exhausted, accounting for 40% of the NRRP’s resources (€480 million out of a total of €1.2 billion).
As of September 30, 2025, the implementation status of the measure can be summarized as follows:
- total companies approved: 8,545;
- total companies with financing revoked by the Facilities Committee, as a measure for suspected irregularities or non-compliance: 3,282; of these, 1,644 companies did not receive financing, while recovery actions were initiated against the remaining 1,638;
- total companies financed: 5,263;
The reporting process for the funded projects is currently underway: the achievement of the objective, well above the agreed threshold of 4,000 companies, has been positively certified during five audits by the competent EU bodies, which concluded without any findings in the reporting process. The management of the measure by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and SIMEST is being monitored by Italian and European supervisory authorities, with audits carried out by the Independent Audit Body of the NRRP, established at the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, by the Court of Auditors, the European Commission, and the European Court of Auditors.