MILAN: Small Italian car filter supplier Ecofiltri took out a state-backed loan last year, just like thousands of other businesses fighting to keep afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Research by Milan's Politecnico University shows Italy could add 1.9 percentage points a year on average to its GDP growth if its small- and medium-sized enterprises bridged a 40 per cent gap versus Spanish peers measured by indicators ranging from e-commerce capabilities or electronic invoicing to use of big data.
Many firms are family-owned and run, meaning they tend to lack managers with the right skills to lead a digital transformation. It also offers tax breaks to firms seeking to boost digital spending and appointed former Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao as its technology czar to oversee efforts in coming years.
To fund its projects, which include sensors to more easily detect issues with its filters and a digital warehouse management system to feed information to its website and liaise with e-sellers such as Amazon, Ecofiltri last September borrowed €100,000 from Credimi, a fintech lending firm.
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