In response to the growing need for financial solidity and strategic vision for internationalisation, Simest (a company of the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Group) presented the Crescita Pmi fund, a 100 million euro entirely public instrument, designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-caps that want to strengthen their positioning outside national borders.
The fund will invest through minority shareholdings in co-investment with leading private equity operators, with a focus on companies that already have an international vocation or that want to undertake a structured growth path. The objective: to accelerate innovation, solidity and competitiveness of the Italian productive fabric.
The SME Growth Fund
Simest’s new SME Growth fund is intended to support Italian SMEs and mid-cap companies through the acquisition of minority shareholdings in co-investment with leading private equity operators. Regina Corradini D’Arienzo, CEO and general manager of Simest, explained the news of the fund:
“We are changing our skin: not just new tools, but a different way of working alongside businesses”
and highlighted how
“for the first time we can manage public equity ceilings: an epochal change”.
Vittorio de Pedyis, president of Simest, who reiterated the unitary vision underlying the new fund:
“Simest is a collector of the Italian system: Farnesina, Ice, Sace, Cdp and private equity work together like never before. Italy today enjoys a very strong international reputation: it’s time to accelerate.”
Simest’s 2025 measures to promote exports and internationalisation
The newly launched Growth Fund is part of a broader framework of tools for exports and international expansion. In September 2025 Simest started the full operation of the “India Package”: a 500 million euro program dedicated to supporting the export and internationalization of Italian companies towards the Indian market. The package provides subsidized financing, non-repayable contributions (for SMEs, startups and companies in the South), and covers expenses for investments, innovation, green/digital transition, opening of new sales channels, temporary stores, etc.
In March 2025, a package of measures worth over 1 billion euros was announced aimed at strengthening the international competitiveness of Made in Italy, with a focus on high-potential geographical areas such as Latin America, Africa and emerging markets.
Within these measures, in addition to subsidized finance instruments for exports, new equity sections of the “394/81 Fund” have been created: alongside the SME Growth Fund, a new instrument dedicated to infrastructure investments abroad has also been launched, which contributes to strengthening the ability of Italian companies to participate in complex projects in strategic markets.
Lastly, the recent opening of the Simest antenna in Riyadh, in the presence of Minister Tajani, confirms the strengthening of the Italian system in the field, with more direct support to companies in markets with greater potential. The Middle East in fact represents a strategic area for Italy’s international growth, thanks to rapidly developing economic relations and a growing interest of local partners in Italian technologies and know-how. Saudi Arabia, in particular, is today one of the most robust and fastest-growing and most rapidly transforming economies in the Region. There are numerous Italian companies active in the country and exporting to this area with a consolidated presence in key sectors such as infrastructure, automotive, sustainable transport, construction, pharmaceutical-medical, high technology, agritech, culture and sport.
“The opening of the Riyadh antenna represents a decisive step in strengthening our presence alongside Italian companies, with particular attention to SMEs, in a market that is growing with extraordinary rapidity in numerous industrial sectors, including some in which the Italian supply chain is facing difficulties, such as the fashion sector. This new presence will allow us to work in close collaboration with local institutions and partners, facilitating the implementation of investments in sectors in which Made in Italy can offer a distinctive and valuable contribution”
declared the CEO, Regina Corradini D’Arienzo.
Simest’s mission
Simest is the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Group company dedicated to supporting the internationalization of Italian companies. It is 76% controlled by CDP (through SACE) and the remaining 24% is divided between banks, business and trade associations. Founded in 1991 and owned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is one of the key players in the so-called Italian System for business development abroad. Its mission is to accompany Italian companies, in particular SMEs and mid-caps, in their growth projects on international markets, offering capital, financial instruments and operational support.
What it does and why it is strategic
Simest supports companies at every stage of their growth path abroad: from the analysis of export potential, to participation in trade fairs, up to investments and the opening of operational offices in foreign markets. In this sense it represents a bridge between institutions, finance and businesses, and contributes to making Italian companies more competitive in international markets.
- It finances investments for export and internationalisation
- Participates in the capital of companies with minority shares
- Supports foreign investments through subsidized tools (e.g. trade fairs, e-commerce, green and digital transition)
- It collaborates with other institutional export players: Farnesina, Ice, Sace and CDP
- Provides technical assistance for global expansion projects.
