SMEs bringing strength in Emilia-Romagna

Borghi Imballaggi Srl has been active for some 40 years in the sector of corrugated cardboard packaging. As with many other businesses in the Emilia-Romagna region it was shaken by the 2012 earthquake. But Borghi was determined to contribute to the recovery by prioritising innovation and growth to rebuild the community. Our partner bank in the region, the Banca Popolare dell’Emilia Romagna, provided Borghi with a EUR 550 000 loan for a state-of-the-art third production line. The impact on the company has been significant. Three new workers have been hired, and Borghi Imballaggi has been able to purchase a new building to replace properties damaged by the earthquake.

And Borghi is not alone in promoting social cohesion in the Emilia-Romagna region in the push for economic recovery following the 2012 natural disaster. Il Raccolto soc. coop. Agricola, an agricultural enterprise, produces products such as grain, barley, corn, sorghum, soya and sunflowers.  Seeing the need to increase the fertility of the soil and sustain a cost-effective yield to improve the profitability of the business, the enterprise also received a EUR 400 000 loan via EIB partner bank Banca Popolare dell’Emilia Romagna. The investment has been used to implement an innovative fertigation system, ensuring high production while limiting the use of chemical fertilisers to reduce the effects of climate change and enabling additional employment opportunities.

A source of local pride

Community spirit remains a source of strength for all of Italian society, as does pride in ownership. Another cooperative in southern Italy, in Naples, was able to enjoy the favourable conditions of EIB lending to the general benefit of society. Napoli Integrazione is a cooperative that provides social care in Naples and its surrounding province. Napoli Integrazione forms part of ANFFAS – the national association for families of people with intellectual and/or relationship disabilities. The EIB’s partner bank Banca Prossima granted Napoli Integrazione a loan of EUR 1.5m, of which 50% covered by EIB funds. The loan has allowed the cooperative to take over ownership of the Santa Maria Delle Grazie property in the municipality of Cicciano, where it now operates a well-equipped residential health care facility.

Banca Prossima also helped the EIB to put child healthcare at the top of the priority list in Monza. The Maria Letizia Verga Committee aims to provide the best medical care and psychological support to children with leukaemia, as well as their families, whilst they are being treated at the Paediatric Clinic of the San Gerardo Hospital in Monza. The Committee became aware of the hospital’s lack of capacity to provide adequate care in terms of both patient treatment and research into a cure. Faced with an investment of EUR 10m, the Committee turned to the EIB’s partner bank Banca Prossima, which granted a EUR 5m long-term loan. The new wing will be completed in early 2016, offering hope for both patients and families dealing with leukaemia.

Rewriting the SME story

In addition to strong community links, Italy continuously thrives on the arts. In 2013 the writer Alessandro Baricco turned to Banca Prossima to implement a renovation project for the Cavalli barracks. The aim for the old barracks was to accommodate the Holden School, an academy of art and writing that offers a range of innovative and multidisciplinary courses of study and represents a centre of the avant-garde in the editorial education landscape. The EUR 5.4m investment was funded in part through a EUR 2.7m loan from Banca Prossima and the EIB. Thanks to the new premises, the Holden School welcomed an impressive 140 students in the first year with an additional 30 joining in the second year.

EIB lending is going some part of the way to promoting economic recovery in Italy and our efforts across all sectors of the SME community will continue in the years to come.