Boosting Local Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Creation in Lombardy Region
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Released in November 2012 Boosting Local Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Creation in Lombardy Region Final Report “BOOSTING LOCAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ENTERPRISE CREATION IN LOMBARDY REGION” FINAL REPORT A review by the Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Programme of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) NOVEMBER 2012 2 | ABOUT ABOUT THE OECD The OECD is a multi-disciplinary inter-governmental organisation of 34 member countries which engages in its work an increasing number of non-members from all regions of the world. The Organisation’s core mission today is to help governments work together towards a stronger, cleaner, fairer global economy. Through its network of 250 specialised committees and working groups, the OECD provides a setting where governments compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice, and co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Commission takes part in the work of the OECD. For more information on the OECD, please visit www.oecd.org/about. ABOUT LEED The OECD Programme on Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) has advised governments and communities since 1982 on how to respond to economic change and tackle complex problems in a fast-changing world. Its mission is to contribute to the creation of more and better quality jobs through more effective policy implementation, innovative practices, stronger capacities and integrated strategies at the local level. LEED draws on a comparative analysis of experience from the five continents in fostering economic growth, employment and inclusion. For more information on the LEED Programme, please visit www.oecd.org/cfe/leed. This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Organisation or of the governments of its member countries. 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FOREWORD | 3 FOREWORD Entrepreneurship and the development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are key drivers of economic growth and job creation. The OECD review series on Boosting Local Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Creation, of which this study is a part, examines the capacity of local economies to support successful new enterprise creation and the growth of small enterprises and make recommendations on how this capacity can be enhanced through local policies. The reviews entail an assessment of entrepreneurship and SME performance at the local level, the local framework conditions affecting this performance and the policies in place to back entrepreneurship and SME development. The reviews involve a comprehensive examination of conditions and policies including the key domains of skills, financing, regulations, business support infrastructure and innovation. In the case of Lombardy, the economically most powerful region of Italy, the review includes a specific assessment of local entrepreneurship policies against the framework of the European Union’s Small Business Act (SBA). The SBA prioritises the role of business-friendly regulations for the creation of new start-ups and the development of existing small enterprises. SMEs and their clusters constitute the backbone of Lombardy economical structure. In such a context and given the impact of the persisting current financial and economic downturn, supporting the development of innovative SME and their networks is a priority for addressing the recovery challenge. Against the SBA principles, Lombardy performs well. Within the region, there is a strong foundation of a highly educated workforce, with the presence of many top Italian universities. This provides a valuable knowledge base which is essential for business innovation and growth. Additionally, the report finds that the region has a developed system of SME financing based on mutual guarantee schemes (Confidi). Analysis of this structure reveals a consolidated system that emerging businesses can utilise as a source of growth-funding. In examining the existing regulations and policies of the region, the report proposes areas in which the key findings of the review can be implemented to create further efficiencies within the SBA framework’s priorities, in particular by strengthening a more systemic networking base among SMEs and relevant actors based in the region. The case of Lombardy offers some very interesting lessons for other OECD regions that are seeking to improve their economic performance and increase social inclusion by applying more business-friendly regulations and targeted programmes for SMEs and entrepreneurship. All those regions in Europe seeking to apply the Small Business Act principles at local level will also find inspiration in this report. I would like to thank the Unioncamere Lombardia and the Regione Lombardia for the opportunity they gave us to contribute to this work. Sergio Arzeni Director, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development Head, OECD LEED Programme BOOSTING LOCAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ENTERPRISE CREATION IN LOMBARDY REGION, ITALY - © OECD 2012 4 | AUTHORS AND PROJECT TEAM AUTHORS AND PROJECT TEAM Review manager Alessandra Proto, Policy Analyst, OECD Collection of data through OECD survey Unioncamere Lombardia International review panel Lucia Cusmano, Senior Economist, OECD Neil MacCallum, Neil MacCallum Associates, United Kingdom Ricardo Pinto, Pinto Consulting GmbH, Germany Paolo Rosso, Sign s.r.l., Italy BOOSTING LOCAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ENTERPRISE CREATION IN LOMBARDY REGION, ITALY - © OECD 2012 AKNOWLEDGMENTS | 5 AKNOWLEDGMENTS This case study of entrepreneurship programmes and the application of the European Union’s Small Business Act in the Lombardy region of Italy is part of the series of reviews on Boosting Local Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Creation undertaken by the Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This work stream is led by Dr. Jonathan Potter, senior economist in the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development. The review was undertaken in collaboration with Unioncamere Lombardia and Regione Lombardia. The work was supervised by Ms. Alessandra Proto of the OECD LEED Programme, who also edited the report. The OECD is grateful to Regione Lombardia and particularly to Mr. Francesco Baroni, General Manager of the Department of industry, handicraft, building and cooperation of Regione Lombardia and nominated Mr. SME for the region, for his support and interest in this review. The work would not have been possible without the commitment of all interview partners and the engagement of Mr. Roberto Valente, Manager of Unioncamere Lombardia. Mr. Valente and his colleagues at Unioncamere Lombardia and at Regione Lombardia provided essential assistance in the implementation and analysis of the surveys, in organising the meetings and in providing useful data and statistics. Mr. Valente was fundamental in facilitating the discussions during the study visit as well as coordinating the relationship with the Regione Lombardia. Additional thanks go to the various stakeholders in Lombardy that took the time to meet with the OECD international expert team during the study visits and provided invaluable insights to this study. In addition to Ms. Alessandra Proto and Dr. Lucia Cusmano from the OECD Secretariat, the international expert team consisted of the following experts: Mr. Neil McCallum, Dr. Ricardo Pinto, and Mr. Paolo Rosso. Essential in-house support to organise the study visit and finalise the report was provided by Mr. Roberto Chizzali from the OECD secretariat and by Mr. Andrea Passalacqua, intern at the OECD LEED Trento Centre, who provided very valuable contribution in the analysis of the survey. BOOSTING LOCAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ENTERPRISE CREATION IN LOMBARDY REGION, ITALY - © OECD 2012 6 | TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ................................................................................................................................ 3 AUTHORS AND PROJECT TEAM ............................................................................................ 4 AKNOWLEDGMENTS ..............................................................................................................