The Nova+ financing programme continued to support Italian companies investing in innovation and research. Nova+ supplements traditional credit rating analysis with a technical and business assessment of investment plans, conducted by a team of engineers specialised in various product sectors and with in-depth knowledge of technology trends. In this regard, Mediocredito Italiano continued to partner a number of reputable Italian universities which offer their technical and scientific support to assess the technological risk of more complex and ambitious projects.

Overall, nearly 200 projects were financed from 2014 to 2016, for total funding of more than 245 million euro. 48 projects were funded in 2016, for a total of approximately 46.5 million euro.

The decrease in Nova+ loans highlights the difficulties of recent years concerning loan applications for innovation made by Italian companies, at a time when the signs of a recovery in the investments cycle have not yet been consolidated. In 2016, Mediocredito Italiano renewed the Nova+ programme, which will be implemented in 2017 as part of the “Industria 4.0” initiative, to support business investments, also in light of incentives in the 2017 Stability Law, which extend tax relief measures in the 2016 Stability Law.

Initiatives supported by the Group include Rome Med – Mediterranean Dialogues 2016, organised by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation together with the Italian Institute for International Political Studies. The 2016 edition developed a “positive agenda” for the Mediterranean region based on four fundamental areas (Shared Prosperity, Shared Security, Migration and Civil Society and Culture). Ideas to relaunch economic interaction, promote a broader-ranging regional cooperation and ensure adequate incentives for sustainable development were dedicated to business leaders and civil society and their role in promoting political and economic stability in a region with important opportunities in terms of new commercial possibilities and energy channels.