Starting a new business: available incentives for start-ups

The main calls for applications that can be accessed regardless of the geographical area where the company is based and the type of activity to be carried out are:

This is a mix of zero-interest financing and non-repayable grants for business projects with expenses up to 3 million euros, which can cover up to 90% of the total eligible expenses.
It is aimed at companies whose corporate structure consists of more than half of the shareholders or participation quotas held by individuals aged between 18 and 35, or by women, and they must have been established for no more than 12 months. Natural persons can also apply for financing, provided they establish the company within 45 days of potential admission to the incentives.
The application must be submitted exclusively online on the Invitalia website, to which the business plan must be attached; this is a document that describes the entrepreneurial idea in detail and must contain:
- data and profile of the proponent;
- description of the proposed activity;
- market analysis and related strategies;
- technical-productive and organizational aspects;
- economic-financial aspects.

It is a zero-interest loan for the start-up of small entrepreneurial initiatives by young NEETs (young people up to 29 years old, enrolled in the Youth Guarantee program, who are unemployed and not engaged in study or training paths).
The loan can range from a minimum of €5,000 to a maximum of €50,000 and is intended to cover initial investments and management expenses.
These are subsidized loans  without interest, without guarantees, repayable over 7 years with monthly installments starting twelve months after the disbursement of the loan.
Young people can start self-employment and self-entrepreneurship initiatives through the establishment of sole proprietorships, partnerships, cooperative companies, professional associations, and partnerships between professionals established for no more than 12 months relative to the date of application, provided they are inactive. The following may apply for financing:
- sole proprietorships; partnerships; cooperative companies/social cooperatives composed of a maximum of 9 members: established for no more than 12 months relative to the date of application provided they are inactive or not yet established, on condition that they are established within 90 days of potential admission to the incentives.

In Italy, the term start-up refers to a new capital company searching for a repeatable and scalable business model. To be clearer: starting a business in the catering sector does not mean creating a startup, but a traditional company (unlike the literal meaning, which simply identifies the first phase of a company's life). To access specific incentives, one must have the qualification of an innovative start-up, which means being registered in a specific section of the business register and meeting the following criteria:
- the corporate purpose must be the development, production, and marketing of innovative products or services with high technological value;
- must have been established for no more than 5 years;
- present an annual production value of less than 5 million euros;
- must not have distributed profits;
- possess at least one of the following characteristics:
     1. research and development expenses exceeding 15% of the higher value between cost and total production value;
     2. ⅔ of the workforce must hold a master's degree;
     3.  be holders, depositors, or licensees of at least one industrial property right.

The MISE, with the aim of facilitating the development of this category of high-value-added but high-risk companies, has developed a policy to support innovative start-ups, namely a series of simplifications and digitalization of administrative procedures, tax incentives (exemption from some minor taxes, deductions for equity investments, non-taxability of income from SFP), publicity (open data), and new forms of access to capital (equity crowdfunding).

The main incentive is aimed at investors and consists, for natural persons, of a 30% Irpef deduction of the investment up to a maximum of 1 million; for companies, a 30% deduction of the Ires taxable income for an amount equal to the invested capital up to a maximum of 1.8 million (the use of the incentive is conditional on maintaining the participation for at least 3 years).

It is an interest-free loan, with a maximum duration of 8 years, equal to 80% of the eligible expenses and/or costs between 100 thousand and 1.5 million euros, which present at least one of the following characteristics:
1. significant technological and innovative content;
2. development of products, services, or solutions in the field of the digital economy;
3. economic valorization of the results of the public and private research system (research spin-offs).
Only small-scale innovative start-ups established for no more than 5 years or in the process of being established can access it.

In the first years of a company's activity, investments are very high and it is not always easy to obtain bank financing on advantageous terms and without having to provide asset guarantees, especially if the entrepreneurs are young and have little experience. It is true that market interest rates are currently very low, but the risk appetite of credit institutions has not increased. The incentives indicated above are the main ones at the national level and allow for the procurement of third-party capital at zero interest; they are aimed at the riskiest groups in terms of creditworthiness, such as young people who often lack personal assets, the unemployed, beneficiaries of citizenship income, and innovative start-ups, whose risk and high degree of uncertainty are inherent in the corporate purpose. Regions throughout Italy implement incentives for the development of new activities (in this article, for example, you can find the incentives of the Lombardy region), and city chambers of commerce also provide aid to facilitate the start of new businesses. Before opening a new business, it is advisable to check the open calls for applications at both the national and local levels.