Italy: EBRD shareholder profile

Italy’s contributions have underpinned the growth of small and medium-sized businesses in the Balkans, the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region and Türkiye through dedicated technical assistance and investment co-financing instruments for SMEs. Italy is also participating in financing investments under the Enterprise Expansion Fund (ENEF) component of the Western Balkans Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility. Italy contributed to several multi-donor funds, including the European Western Balkans Joint Fund, the Ukraine Stabilisation and Sustainable Growth Multi-Donor Account, the Small Business Impact Fund (SBIF), and the SEMED Multi-Donor Account. Through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, AICS, Italy supported Ukraine through the Crisis Response Special Fund with a contribution of EUR 10M in 2023.

Italy is also the sole contributor to the Central European Initiative Fund. The CEI Fund, which was established in 1992 and has contributions of €45.5 million to date, supports transition countries in the process of EU integration. The Fund supports technical cooperation projects in the areas of transport, energy efficiency and climate change, enterprise development and policy dialogue. The Fund has also provided assistance through a specific CEI instrument, the Know-How Exchange Programme by financing capacity building projects.

Italy is one of the strongest sources of foreign direct investment in the EBRD’s countries of operations.

The value of joint Italy-EBRD investment stood at €25.91 billion as of end December 2023. EBRD finance accounted for €14.01 billion, and Italian investment accounted for €11.90 billion.

The joint investment has been strong in Poland, followed by regional projects, Türkiye, Bulgaria, and Hungary. Broken down by industry, joint investment has been in the following sectors: industry, commerce & agribusiness, sustainable infrastructure, and financial institutions.

Italian banks are also involved in the Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP), through which the EBRD guarantees the payment of trade finance instruments issued by banks in the countries where we invest to foreign confirming banks. Since inception, the TFP has supported 2660 export and import transactions for Italian companies for a total €836.58 million, for transactions which were initiated by banks in the EBRD countries of operation and confirmed by banks in both Italy and abroad. Twenty-seven Italian banks and branches of banks have joined the programme as Confirming Banks (all figures as of December 2023).

From 2018 to 2022, entities from Italy won 398 procurement and consultancy contracts worth €621.9 million.