The investments of European SMEs in 2023 are at risk of declining, while venture capital comes from a year of growth. The push that comes from Europe is called InvestEU
The investments of European SME in 2023 could slow down, under the weight of the uncertainty with which 2022 ended: war, crisis of raw materials, increase in energy costs and inflation.
But those companies that are convinced of their own economic and technological proposal could instead benefit from a wave of positive stability.
All this against the background of risk capital which in 2022 started to look favorably on Europe again and with a plan, such as InvestEU which was conceived precisely to encourage the attraction of investments with the guarantee of being able to count on a European fund to 26.2 billion euros.
SME investments in 2023
A recent survey by the CNA (National Confederation of Crafts and Small and Medium Enterprises) on the prospects of Italian SMEs relating to the performance of the Italian economy and investment in the system found that more than half (6 out of 10) of companies struggle to make a forecast.
Inflation and high energy costs, in addition to the complicated international scenario, prevent SMEs from having a clear and stable vision of the economic system.
With regard to their internal dynamics, however, SMEs have the clearest ideas, and one out of two will keep investments stable, one out of ten will increase them and the remaining 4 out of 10 will reduce them.
All with an ability to give work which for almost 8 SMEs out of 10 remains stable or increasing.
Venture capital and Europe
In the background there is venture capital, which is essential to push the investments of innovative startups and SMEs. The good news is that in 2022 the investment rounds that saw the participation of non-European venture capital, i.e. that attracted funding to our continent by snatching it from other economies, reached a record of one operation out of two (PitchBook data).
More than 4,200 investment rounds, for more than 65 billion euro (nearly 80% of European deals) have attracted international capital.
The new Italian unicorns, such as Satispay, also benefited from it, which attracted American investors and companies with a high technological content.
And with artificial intelligence becoming the new dominant trend of the entire hi-tech scenario, together with cybersecurity and the new mobility, 2023 promises growth for companies that have ideas.
The boost of InvestEU
In this context, the InvestEU programme, capable of allocating European funds for 26.2 billion euros to guarantee a long-term private investment plan (2027) of 370 billion euros for the development of SMEs in terms of innovation, sustainability and social inclusiveness (work and skills) fits perfectly.
The problem, if anything, is that it is not talked about enough: few know of the existence of the InvestEU program and of the realities to which SMEs and startups can turn to finance their growth.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2023-01-10 09:16:00. Original title: Pmi nel 2023, fra investimenti, venture capital e fondi UE
