Credits

Smart&Start Italia

Invitalia / MIMIT, Italy

Interest-free financing of €100K-€1.5M covering 80-90% of costs for innovative Italian startups.

Potential value:
EUR 1.5M in credits
Provider:
Invitalia / MIMIT, Italy
Referral needed:
No

Why this could be a strong fit

Useful for teams standardizing on Invitalia / MIMIT, Italy who want to offset general costs during the early build-out phase.

What you need to qualify

  • Innovative startup of micro or small size, incorporated no more than 60 months ago
  • Registered in the special section of the Italian Business Register (Registro delle imprese)
  • Teams intending to incorporate a startup may also apply, including non-Italian citizens holding a startup visa
  • Foreign companies undertaking to establish operations in Italy are eligible
  • Eligible project spend of at least 100,000 euro and no more than 1,500,000 euro
  • The plan must be carried out within 24 months of signing the contract
  • Costs incurred before the application is submitted are not eligible

Eligibility

Eligible stages
Pre-seed, Seed
Countries
Italy

How to apply

  1. 1

    Register in the Invitalia personal area

    The application is submitted through the Invitalia area personale, so the account has to exist first. Invitalia publishes a step by step guide to the personal area as a PDF from the programme page.

  2. 2

    Download the forms and prepare the business plan

    The application documents are downloadable from the dedicated section of the programme page. Content required covers company and applicant details, the technical profiles of the team, a description of the business, market analysis, technical specification and financial projections.

  3. 3

    Prepare a pitch presentation of at most 15 slides

    The pitch is capped at 15 slides ("max. 15 diapositive"), so it is a hard limit rather than guidance.

  4. 4

    Sign digitally and submit through the personal area

    A digital signature is mandatory on the application. Submission is online through the personal area, with no paper route.

  5. 5

    Wait for the assessment

    Applications are examined within 60 days of submission, in order of arrival, with no ranking or comparative scoring against other applicants.

Frequently asked

Innovative startups of micro or small size incorporated no more than 60 months ago and registered in the special section of the Business Register. Teams that intend to incorporate a startup can also apply, as can non-Italian citizens holding a startup visa and foreign companies committing to set up in Italy.

Zero interest financing of 80 percent of eligible expenses, rising to 90 percent if the startup is founded entirely by women and/or people under 36 or involves a PhD researcher. Startups based in central and southern Italy also receive a non-repayable grant of 30 percent.

Eligible expenses must be no more than 1,500,000 euro and no less than 100,000 euro. Raw materials, services and working capital qualify, but nothing spent before the application is submitted does.

No. Invitalia states the incentive is "a sportello": there are no rankings and no deadlines, and applications are accepted for as long as funds remain available. Each one is examined within 60 days, in order of arrival.

The plan has to be completed within 24 months of signing the contract.

Online only, through the Invitalia personal area, with a mandatory digital signature and a pitch of at most 15 slides attached.
General

Related programs

We have not been able to confirm a deadline for this one. Check the official page before you start.

Do I qualify?

2 things decide this one. Check yourself against them before you spend time on the form.

Stage
Pre-seed, Seed
Where you are incorporated
Italy
Funding raised so far
No limit stated
Referral
Not needed. You can apply directly

That is the rulebook. What we cannot show you here is whether your startup clears it, how this ranks against the other programs you qualify for, and what to fix if you do not.

Check what I qualify for

Five questions, about a minute, no account needed.

Last verified against the official page. Report an error

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