The Italian Business Roadshow has travelled south to Matera, which is hosting its 9th stop for 2016. Around 80 businesses came together at Palazzo Lanfranchi for an opportunity to discuss internationalisation issues with public and private representatives of the Italian economic fabric and to find out more about the systems available for supporting the international expansion of their activities.
Rosa Gentile, Confartigianato Imprese Matera Chairperson, opened the conference and pointed out that “initiatives like the Roadshow contribute to fine-tuning the cooperation between institutions supporting internationalisation and business s that want to promote their products abroad (or have to, because of the crisis) in order to position themselves effectively in the global market”.
Ms Gentile’s speech was followed by presentations delivered by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italian Trade Agency (ICE), Italian Export Credit Agency SACE and Simest. Carlo Formosa, Principal Director for the Internationalisation of the Country System and Territorial Autonomies chaired the session.
“To paraphrase Lavoisier and perhaps stretch his message a little, I would say that wealth is not only created and destroyed, but is also transferred, and companies have to be good at quickly understanding how such transfers occur, in order to benefit from the increased demand for Italian goods to which they may lead”, explained Director Carlo Formosa while discussing the ability of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to interpret these trends through its diplomatic and consular network: around 300 embassies, consulates and cultural institutes, “a strategic asset to guide companies towards the best opportunities for growth in foreign markets. It is essential for our businesses to make the most of the information software Embassies make available to our companies interested in internationalisation”.
