Italian Export South Plan 2 – the multiannual programme for the promotion of Southern Italy economy

Italian Export South Plan 2 – the multiannual programme for the promotion of Southern Italy economy

2022 is the last year of the currently ongoing Italian Export South Plan 2 (PES 2). This is a multiannual funding programme designed to support and incentivise export of goods from Italy’s least developed regions. Due to COVID-19, the original time span of the programme was prolonged from 2021 to 2022.

PES 2 pursues two main finalities:

• the transformation of potentially exporting companies into regular exporters,
• and the increase of the export quota deriving from the regions of Southern Italy.

The budget dedicated to the multiannual framework is € 50 million aggregating both national and European resources:

• European Union: € 34,405,503,
• IT Revolving Fund: € 11.001.512.
• IT Development and Cohesion Fund: € 4.592.985.

The geographical scope of the programme concerns two main categories of territories, each covered by a specific sub-funding programme:

• € 43.4 million for least developed regions: Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, Calabria and Sicily.
• € 6.6 million for transitioning regions: Abruzzo, Molise and Sardinia.

The budget is destined for SMEs and micro-enterprises, start-ups, consortia, business networks, technology hubs and university centres operating in the following key sectors:

furniture and construction

mobility

agriculture and food

fashion and clothing

furniture and construction

high-tech

energy

mobility

The programme is divided into two main objectives, i.e. training interventions and promotion activities.

For the first objective in 2022, € 1 million are allocated for coaching and training activities including the following three interventions:

• The ICE Export Lab training course, provided by the Italian Trade Agency,
• Short courses on digital innovation and intellectual property,
• Technical-training seminars of initial orientation and/or specialised type and follow-up actions.

The application process for these actions will be opened in 2022.

The second objective of 2022 provides € 9.6 million for promotion activities which are divided into distinct types of initiatives. Some of those are already open for applications, i.e. support for the participation at international fairs scheduled between January and March 2022 – such as the one of the jewellery sector in Tokyo or the bio sector in Nuremberg – whose planning phase is already underway.

In addition to the international fairs and the general actions of support, the second objective includes funding for the following:

• Actions in areas of productive areas of excellence;
• Actions for the promotion on foreign media and networks;
• Events of international partnerships in Italy and abroad;
• Actions concerning the development of e-commerce.

These actions are expected to be open for applications soon.

For further details on the objectives, admissibility, eligibility and application concerning PES2, please feel free to contact the EUFUNDINGHUB.