Open letter to Draghi on startups and Enea tech

Angelo Coletta, president of InnovUp, appeals to the premier for the simplified establishment of startups and for the funds of Enea Tech

Biotech (Girl with red hat / Unsplash) * by Angelo Coletta, President of InnovUp

Dear President, on behalf of the Association which since 2012 (following the first Italian "Startup Act") represents thousands of innovative Italian companies, and consequently many entrepreneurs who have put innovation at the center of their lives, I hope you can devote some of your time to two issues that at first glance may seem trivial, but which instead are strongly indicative of the daily obstacle course to which new entrepreneurial realities are forced. I refer to those same realities that are already playing a crucial role in Italy's competitiveness on a global level, considering that it is precisely companies with less than 5 years of life that contribute most to the creation of qualified jobs. .

Within a week, the Italian innovation ecosystem found itself having to deal with two heavy stops in the dialogues in place with institutions and professional associations, regarding the issues of online establishment of startups and funds available to Enea Tech.

On the first issue, the fears of a bureaucratization of the constitution process have become a reality with the approval of the legislative decree scheme for the transposition of the EU2019 / 1151 directive (under discussion in recent weeks in the competent parliamentary committees) which established that only the Notariat platform is delegated for this purpose, effectively re-introducing a monopoly ex lege and moving in contrast to the basic principle that had inspired the European delegation law on this matter.

Now, in addition, yet another reversal on the funds of Enea Tech & Biomedical: the 400 million euros allocated by the dl Sostegni bis and aimed at guaranteeing a response to the startups that had participated in the tenders in the previous months are were again withdrawn from the funds available to the Foundation.

Representing the startuppers of today and above all of tomorrow, in a country that finally this year seems to be able to exceed the threshold of one billion euros in total funding raised by our companies innovative, and with the clear flywheel effect that will ensue on our entrepreneurs, it is no longer possible to stand by.

For this reason, first of all we ask that the right to be born, that is to constitute themselves in a simple and respectful way of market competition, through digital means that have already allowed it for years, in particular by restoring at least 3 fundamental points to avoid suffocating the ecosystem Italian from an unmotivated bureaucracy:

1) The constitution process should be effectively digitized, as was the case with the telematic procedure introduced by Mise in 2016, and to do so it is essential that it can take place through different solutions, even in competition between them, with the obvious and necessary verification guaranteed by a "public deed".

2) The remuneration due to professionals in the process of registering a startup should be controlled at the level of the main European countries, where companies are set up with totally telematic procedures and costs that do not exceed 100 euros. Some recent studies have estimated that, for a young Italian company, the registration cost well exceeds the 1,500 euro fee alone, without counting the registration taxes and the endorsement of the company books

3) The statute, where required by startups, it should be able to be standardized, given that the needs at the time of establishment are in fact always similar. This would reduce the complexity for startups and professionals, simplifying and reducing the burdens to be incurred in this phase.

The simple constitution, in fact, does not fall into the case where business needs require the necessary support of the professional skills of a notary, who remains the primary partner for the most complex transactions.

Secondly, we ask that the funds destined for startups are no longer used as a decoy: an example above all is represented by the umpteenth contradiction on the funds destined for EneaTech.

Already last May, following the Sostegni Bis Decree, the fund's system was even canceled, with a change of name and a focus only on biomedical, and then restored later with the addition of a further 400 million which had brought the total funds of the Foundation to 900 million euros. Of the latter funds, in the latest version of the Decree, 250 million were reserved for over 1,000 startups and innovative SMEs that had already presented projects following the various calls launched by the Foundation to date.

Now we learn that in a decree of the Mise dated 17/09/2021 these "additional 400 million" were withdrawn and reported in the availability of Invitalia. A decision that appears even more serious in light of the reasons underlying the withdrawal of funds: "Having verified that, on the basis of the current state of operation of the 'Fund for technology transfer', there are currently no additional resources required" to demonstration of a limited ecosystem vision and summary assessments that have not even awaited the presentation of the new Industrial Plan of the Foundation, whose activities are currently frozen.

In conclusion, President, I believe that in addition to to fix the damage caused by short-sighted policies for innovation in past years, a concrete commitment is essential to put startups at the center of the strategies of the future. Italy, useless to go around it, needs a greater financial commitment to invest in research and innovation (France and Germany invest public money in the order of tens of billions at a time on startups) and consequently the human capital capable of to allow us to play a leading role in sectors that today may still seem niche, but which tomorrow will be absolutely strategic. We need measures that favor the return of our best talents, born and trained here and then forced to go elsewhere to prove their worth, so I repeat: let's take advantage of this historical moment of restart to bring them back to Italy, to equip ourselves with that set of skills that would immediately add value to supply chains that already represent a flagship of our country in the world.


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Topics

Italy Mario Draghi Startup politics globalData.fldTopic = "Italy, Mario Draghi , Politics, startup "

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