Bianchi: “Let SMEs grow to increase GDP, productivity and wages”

ROME – Promote the growth of small businesses to increase productivity, GDP and wages. This is the proposal of Fausto Bianchi, president of Small Industry and vice-president of Confindustria, at the organization's XXII annual Forum.

According to the study presented, if companies with 10-19 employees reached the range between 50 and 249 employees, with the same employment, productivity would increase by 5.5% in industry, by 6.1% in manufacturing and by 4.3% in the entire economy. «A growth that would translate into an increase in GDP of the same size and in a mostly similar growth in wages», underlined Bianchi.

At the center of the proposal are the approximately 220 thousand companies with 10-100 employees, defined as "10/100": companies too large to benefit from the tools intended for micro-enterprises, but not yet structured enough to easily access public and market resources. «Small ones must be able to become medium-sized ones», stated Bianchi. «It is not a problem of the quality of Italian entrepreneurs, but of obstacles to growth».

The picture, however, is worrying. Between 2018 and 2024, the number of micro and small industrial enterprises decreased by 7.1%. The crises of supply chains such as automotive and steel, the cost of energy and a bureaucracy that reduces margins and investment capacity are weighing heavily. The disappearance of a company, Bianchi recalled, does not only concern the balance sheet: it means losing skills, employment and social protection in the territories.

Hence the request for a four-year 10/100 Pact, not limited to the next budget law. Companies undertake four commitments: to grow, strengthen their solidity, open up to new members and skills, and promote industrial aggregations. «Membering together does not mean giving up your identity. It means giving her a future", explained Bianchi. Four conditions are instead asked of politicians: simple rules, investments, capital and finance. The proposals include a tool dedicated to 10/100 business innovation, permanent incentives for capital strengthening and greater access to credit, private equity and capital markets. “We need to make it more convenient to grow together than to sell alone.”

Bianchi also denounced the differences in treatment between industry, agriculture and craftsmanship. «If a farmer, a craftsman and a small industrialist buy the same electric trolley, why are the conditions for doing business so different?». The risk, he warned, is that robots and advanced technologies enter "the stables and workshops" but stop "in front of the gates of our small industries". Particular attention must also be paid to artificial intelligence: in 2025, 16.4% of Italian companies with at least ten employees used it, compared to a European average of 20%. For Bianchi, hubs capable of accompanying SMEs in choosing reliable consultants and solutions are needed: "We must not leave every SME alone in front of artificial intelligence."