General view of the outside of the headquarters of Italian filter supplier Ecofiltri, in Vasto, Abruzzo region, Italy March 16, 2021. Simone Scafetta/Handout via REUTERS
Research by Milan’s Politecnico University shows Italy could add 1.9 percentage points a year on average to its GDP growth if its small- and medium-sized enterprises bridged a 40% gap versus Spanish peers measured by indicators ranging from e-commerce capabilities or electronic invoicing to use of big data.
Encouragingly, 92% of SMEs polled by VAR Group expect to invest in digital capacity in the next two years, despite the blow to sales from the pandemic.In a country where broadband access is below the EU average, large companies which can sustain programmes of technological investment make up only a tiny proportion of businesses.
It also offers tax breaks to firms seeking to boost digital spending and appointed former Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao as its technology czar to oversee efforts in coming years. To fund its projects, which include sensors to more easily detect issues with its filters and a digital warehouse management system to feed information to its website and liaise with e-sellers such as Amazon, Ecofiltri last September borrowed 100,000 euros from Credimi, a fintech lending firm.
Laggard?😂
Do you think this is what people really need right now?