Entrepreneurship, Female
THE DIFFICULTIES OF DOING BUSINESS IN ITALY
11/07/2022
In Italia lo spirito imprenditoriale rischia di essere soffocato dai tanti ostacoli che si frappongono tra gli imprenditori e la possibilità concreta di aprire una propria attività, nel proprio territorio e reperire tutte le risorse necessarie. Molteplici sono le resistenze degli italiani a fare impresa nel proprio Paese, difficili da combattere e legate, in particolare, al senso di incertezza e insicurezza legato all‘ingombrante burocrazia e al peso della tassazione elevata.
Le piccole e medie imprese rappresentano la spina dorsale del sistema imprenditoriale italiano. Ma fare impresa in Italia significa affrontare un percorso ricco di ostacoli che portano, spesso, lo spirito imprenditoriale ad essere soffocato dai tanti ostacoli che si frappongono tra l‘imprenditore e la concreta possibilità di aprire un‘attività in proprio.
Per comprendere il grado di soddisfazione dei piccoli e micro imprenditori nei confronti delle istituzioni locali e nazionali, l‘Osservatorio «ProntoPro» ha condotto un‘indagine su duemila professionisti. L‘insieme delle risposte ricevute da 18 regioni su 20 ha permesso di tracciare una panoramica delle regioni e province migliori e peggiori del Paese rispetto al sostegno percepito dalle istituzioni locali e nazionali, al sistema burocratico, alla gestione fiscale e alle aspettative per il futuro. L‘indagine condotta ha coinvolto un campione molto eterogeneo di lavoratori, occupati in più di cinquecento categorie di servizi, di età compresa tra i 20 ei 60 anni, con contratto part-time o full-time, il 95 per cento dei quali dirigeva un‘impresa con cinque o meno dipendenti. Questa non è affatto una scelta casuale,
Lack of trust in local institutions and government, perceived as a hindrance not an ally throughout the territory. The data speak for themselves: support from the provinces is perceived as insufficient by 53.70% of businesses, poor by 23.9%; intermediate by 16.35% and good by only 5.01%. That given by the regions, is insufficient for 51.25% of enterprises, poor for 24.11%; intermediate for 17.12%, and good for 5.49%. However, the most negative data are related to the perception towards support from the state. Deeming it insufficient is 58.23% of enterprises; it is poor for 24.11%, intermediate for 12.83%, good for 3.40%. Rating it as excellent, only 1.43%.
Negativity regarding the possibility of starting a business in one‘s region is also high. Over 41.65 percent of professionals consider it very difficult to start a business in their area of residence, compared with 10 percent who rate it fairly or very easy to start a new business. Also discouraging the start-up of a new business is, above all, the bureaucracy required, so much so that 57.16 percent of respondents consider it cumbersome. Taking action on streamlining and simplification is an important starting point for the improvement of the Italian business system. Particularly critical then, is the judgment on taxation perceived as an obstacle by 79.77 percent of professionals, not only with respect to the amount of taxes, but also to the management of tax revenues.
Also putting a damper on the entrepreneurial drive of Italians is the lack of awareness of the training opportunities and tools on offer. Training programs made available by local authorities are not sufficiently publicized. In fact, the relationship between professionals, programs and networking events is very problematic: although 70 percent of respondents said they were interested in and found training and networking events and programs useful, as many as 61.9 percent of sampled owners were unaware of the existence of training paths in their sector and territory. Also generating dissatisfaction is the level of digitization of reference administrations: 71.90 percent of professionals in fact believe that websites are unclear and not very comprehensive. Yet the potential of the web is not to be underestimated: the institutional portal, in fact, in addition to acting as a showcase for the activities and services offered by each entity, could turn into a valuable tool for entrepreneurs, becoming a source of information on regulations, application processes for certain licenses, tax breaks, calls for entrepreneurship and training courses.
And how does female entrepreneurship fare in Italy?
According to the latest data from Unioncamere‘s «Observatory on Women‘s Entrepreneurship» the recovery in the pace of growth of women‘s entrepreneurship is slow, but more solid after the pandemic: nearly 24 percent of new businesses led by women are established as corporations, a type of company that is more structured and robust in terms of organization and management (compared with 23 percent in 2021 and 22.6 percent in 2020). Going to analyze the incidence of women-owned businesses in various economic sectors, the CRIF study presents an extremely varied situation. In detail, 40 percent of businesses operating in the domestic work sector are female, as are 38 percent of those active in healthcare, while nearly 1 in 3 businesses are female in accommodation and food services and education. This is followed in incidence by agriculture, real estate, rental and travel agencies, and arts activities. Manufacturing and information and communication services account for 18 percent of female businesses. However, some sectors still remain the almost total preserve of male enterprises, as in the case of mineral extraction, electricity supply, water supply and construction.
