Naples was the 5th stop of the 2019 Roadshow for internationalization, the 66th of the project set up by the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and carried out with the collaboration of local organizations and representatives of Italian companies.
The Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Manlio Di Stefano, the Councilor for Startups, Innovation and Internationalization of the Campania Region, Valeria Fascione, the President of ICE (Agency for Foreign Trade), Carlo Ferro, and the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Naples, Ciro Fiola, also inaugurated the the new ICE Desk that has been set up at the Chamber of Commerce of Naples. This new initiative, which sees the collaboration of the ICE system, CDP and the Chambers of Commerce, makes available ICE internationalization consultants to companies located across the national territory, by ensuring a weekly presence in each Region.
Over 200 companies participating in this Roadshow – with the Chamber of Commerce of Naples and the Campania Region in the role of priority partners – had the opportunity of meeting the organizations that were present. The ministries, ICE, SACE and SIMEST provided updates on the national and regional public instruments in support of the internationalization process, in particular with regard to assistance, promotion, training, insurance and financial products and services.
The companies that were present today operate in the following sectors: food and wine, electronics and IT, construction, textiles and clothing, multi-sector instrumental mechanics and the services. Many of them are global companies, present not only in traditional markets, such as the European Union, but also in America and Asia; they should be encouraged to expand their presence also in those countries where the growth potential is greatest.
“Public support for the internationalization of companies is a crucial objective also for the companies from Campania. Campania and the Province of Naples are undoubtedly in a good position. With exports that are worth over 10.8 billion euros in 2018, Campania was the ninth Italian region in terms of export volume and the first in southern Italy”, said Manlio Di Stefano, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Commenting on the recent attribution of powers over international trade to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Undersecretary highlighted how “the reform that came into effect on 22 September gives rise to a unique and integrated governance model for the management of Italy’s trade policy, for the promotion of Italian goods and support for the internationalization of its production system. In the transition from one Ministry to the other, there will be no slowdown or criticality. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs inherits a structure that will remain operational without interruption. And thanks to the reform, companies will be able to interact with a more streamlined, efficient and effective institutional architecture. With its network of 128 Embassies, 80 Consulates and 78 offices that the ICE Agency has abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be the main institutional point of contact for supporting economic operators to penetrate and conquer foreign markets “.
“Campania is traditionally an export-oriented region, which in the last year has set a record in the area of exports, which amounted to over 10 billion, with a growth of over 2.1% compared to 2017. It has excellent performance in strategic sectors such as pharmaceuticals and transport . Our challenge for the future is to become increasingly competitive in digital exports, a sector that requires a change in the business model of companies. To achieve this goal we intend to focus our strategy on specific tools and support”. This was the comment made by Valeria Fascione, Councilor for internationalization, startups and innovation of the Campania Region.
“The 66th stop of the Roadshow for the internationalization of Italian companies, here in Naples today, coincides with a new focus on improving the access of companies, especially SMEs, to the services that the Country offers to companies – pointed out the President of the ICE Agency, Carlo Ferro – Yesterday we signed the 29th agreement between ICE and the Chambers of Commerce to offer ICE services to businesses through the network of Chambers of Commerce. I announced that in collaboration with CDP, in the coming months, we will be opening also in Naples the regional desk that provides access one day a week to ICE services in each Region, after the desk that was set up earlier in Taranto. We want to make the internationalization promotion services offered by ICE available also to this territory and integrate them with the support offered by other Italian players so as to be closer to the SMEs and to the South, and possibly turn the excellence of Italian products into a higher number of exporting companies “.
“The support to exports with the help of competent facilities” – said Ciro Fiola, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Naples – “is an important priority that we have taken on through a strategic and institutional collaboration with the ICE Agency. I am sure that our companies will succeed in seizing the opportunity to build trade missions and valuable incoming activities. The Palazzo della Borsa itself has offered to host a large number of B2B meetings in the future so as to promote cultural heritage, businesses and Neapolitan products.
To date, with the Roadshow project, in the 2014-2018 five-year period, over 8,000 companies have been involved and over 13,000 meetings have been organized with all the partners, 2,000 of which with ICE, which works jointly with companies to set up personalized training and assistance plans. The results are positive: in 2017 alone, 94% of the companies that sat at the ICE tables during the Roadshow continued their relationship with our Agency, taking advantage of the services dedicated to internationalization, training and to the search for a foreign partner. In 2018, 100% of the companies worked with ICE.
The setting up of a joint table between ICE and Amazon made it possible for the participating companies to be informed about the details of the recent collaboration between ICE and Amazon, aimed at offering further export opportunities through e-commerce. For all the next stops of the 2019 Roadshow 2019, the presence of the ICE and Amazon table will enable the Italian companies that participate to learn about the details of the agreement and about the benefits it can provide.
During the Roadshow, the Programmatic Agreement between the Chamber of Commerce of Naples and the ICE Agency was announced and it was signed yesterday. The aim of the Agreement is to consolidate the Chamber’s program of initiatives in support of the internationalization of SMEs and expand the number of companies that may be interested in doing business in foreign markets
The Roadshow project will continue in 2019 with 3 more stops throughout the peninsula. For details about the calendar:roadshow.ice.it
