Hope for Italian small businesses

For three decades, Giuliano Annigliato’s advertising agencies A&C Network and Uno Outdoor have grown in size and ambition, backing the restoration of monuments in Naples and elsewhere with an innovative idea that saves money for the municipality. But when the COVID-19 virus first ravaged Italy, it hit Annigliato’s business too—most of his clients were in the clothing sector, one of the worst-hit by the pandemic.

Hope arrived in the form of a €2.3 million loan from Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the oldest bank in the world. The loan was made possible by a partnership between the European Investment Bank and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the national promotional bank. A total €1.5 billion financing for Italian small businesses is the first European Investment Bank immediate COVID-19 response and the largest EU bank support to any single country during the pandemic crisis.

In Naples obelisks, fountains and monuments attract the attention of companies and businesses, including Burger Italy, Lui-Jo, Enrico Coveri underwear. These companies have a temporary "advertising window" in Naples, while the monuments will be restored at no cost to the city.

At the height of Italy’s early pandemic crisis, Annigliato had hardly any business. Even the money he had set aside for emergencies would not have been enough to pay his 36 employees for long.  Annigliato had to make use of a temporary furlough scheme for some of them.

At the end of April, when the weight of the world seemed to be crashing on Annigliato, he got much-needed liquidity from the European Investment Bank through CDP and Monte dei Paschi di Siena.  With this buffer, he was able to happily accept a big online order from Rossignol, the iconic French brand. “It was a godsend, a beautiful thing,” he says, his voice warm and enthusiastic, but also displaying the relief of a man who had been on the edge.