A press conference for the presentation of the project 3C4SME, Cross-border Cooperation and Competitiveness for SMEs, took place on 14 December 2018  in Isernia (Italy) at the premises of Confartigianato Imprese Molise. 

The main objective of the project is to analyse innovative approaches to credit access and to improve the opportunities to finance investments and activities in the involved territories, through different tools, mostly the cooperatives of overdraft guarantee.

Mr. Francesco Toci, president of Confartigianato Imprese Molise, and Mr. Emilio Izzo, responsible for the credit sector of the association, presented the results of a context analysis carried out through a questionnaire, in which the entrepreneurs reported their experiences in finance and access to credit.

The data emerging from the study showed that 85% of the SMEs in Molise Region were not aware of cooperatives of overdraft guarantee and 40% of entrepreneurs, in the next three years, will invest in equipment and internationalization activities, especially in Albania and Montenegro.

Furthermore, the idea to create in the next years specific workshops to stimulate start-uppers and artisans on the theme of ‘financial education’ has been launched. During these workshops different tools will be developed, under the supervision of Confartigianato Imprese Molise, to promote new approaches to support SMEs in their activities and future challenges.