MILANO (ITALPRESS) – The final stage of the Premio Women Value Company Intesa Sanpaolo was held in Milan, organized by the banking group led by Carlo Messina, in collaboration with Fondazione Marisa Bellisario and, from this year, with the participation of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center. The initiative, recognized as a special category of the Marisa Bellisario Award and reached this year in its ninth edition, is dedicated to the enhancement of women’s entrepreneurship of excellence for the commitment to promoting gender equality. Also financial commitment, thanks to the billion euros for investments in favor of the female entrepreneurship made available by the Banca dei Territori Division of Intesa Sanpaolo directed by Stefano Barrese, that in the first nine months of the year has provided altogether 43 billion euros in Italy to families and SMEs. There are about a thousand candidates for this year’s Award from all over Italy, of these are 80 companies selected and awarded in three meetings – in Bologna, Naples and Milan – as well as two Golden Apples assigned by Fondazione Bellisario and Intesa Sanpaolo last June, during the ceremony of the 37th edition of the Marisa Bellisario Award. Women Value Company Intesa Sanpaolo has, moreover, collected up to now more than 7,500 nominations, awarded 18 gold apples, awarded approximately 900 SMEs thanks to over 20 local enhancement meetings. After the meeting of Bologna and Naples, in the Milanese one took place the award of 33 enterprises of North Italy, between the 80 winners of the Premio Women Value Company Intesa Sanpaolo 2025, and the assignment of special mentions: Mention for innovation, established under the aegis of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, in Optec (Busto Garolfo – MI) www.optec.eu; Mention for the Social to Cooperativa Orizzonti (Padova – PD) www.orizzonticoop.it; in addition to the celebration of the Golden Apple Small Enterprise, MyLime (Cremona – CR) www.my-lime.com ‘Ringrazio once again Intesa Sanpaolo for having made possible this wonderful initiative and the companies selected for the great contribution that give to the economy of their territories and to the diffusion of a Their management model confirms that investing on women, enhancing their ideas and skills, encouraging their professional growth are all winning bets. With Women Value Company we reward the commitment, fairness and long-sightedness of many Italian SMEs because their inclusive and sustainable growth model becomes an example for all our productive realities. ‘ Intesa Sanpaolo as a reference bank for SMEs, the strength of Italy, dedicates credit, promotion initiatives as well as support for training with specific attention to female entrepreneurship particularly present in Northern Italy, the engine of economic and productive development – underlined Anna Roscio, Executive Director Sales & Marketing Enterprise Division Banca dei Territori Intesa Sanpaolo -. We have made available a billion euros of credit for the investments of female enterprises for the benefit of a sustainable and evolved growth model. In this final stage, the collaboration and the Prize with Fondazione Bellisario offer a well-deserved recognition to the distinctive value of women entrepreneurs throughout the Peninsula for their ability to innovation and for the positive impact on the economic and social fabric of the territories of belonging. ‘ Our contribution to the Women Value Company Award confirms the commitment of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center in enhancing female talent as a strategic leverage for innovation for sustainable, inclusive and competitive growth of the country – the words of Viviana Bacigalupo, Managing Director Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center -. Innovation is an economic and social development accelerator, and with special mention to innovation we intend to recognise and enhance entrepreneurs oriented to change, because where there are vision, culture of equality and ability to innovate, enterprises thrive and generate positive impact for communities. As Innovation Center we are at their side to promote the development of new innovative realities and support its growth. The vision on the future of women’s entrepreneurship and gender equality within Italian SMEs is the focus of the 2025 edition, which has rewarded the commitment to access and valorisation of women’s talent in the world of work, recognizing how their contribution is decisive for corporate growth, productivity and an inclusive vision in the future. Thanks to the collaboration of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center launched this year, Women Value Company Intesa Sanpaolo 2025 has defined a new special mention dedicated to innovation, delivered by Viviana Bacigalupo. The initiative is part of the largest Marisa Bellisario Prize of the Foundation: Every year a Commission examiner, chaired by Lella Golfo and Gianni Letta, selects and assigns the Golden Apples to entrepreneurs, managers, women of the institutions, culture and science that have been particularly distinguished and that with their commitment they have created value. Among these he received the Golden Apple for the category Management Maria Luisa Gota, head of the Asset Management Division of Intesa Sanpaolo, managing director Eurizon and first woman to lead Assogestioni. The Women Value Company 2025 Gold Apples have been assigned to MyLime for the small business category, a young innovative micro enterprise that creates value and transparency on the life cycle of the products through the Digital Product Passport, while for the medium business category the Golden Apple has been recognized to Mulan Group, a food company that collaborates with the main chains of the big distribution throughout Europe. The 80 winning SMEs are for 18% Micro-enterprises, 63% Small Enterprises and 19% Medium Enterprises, distributed for 38% in Northern Italy, 35% in the Centre and 27% in the South. The 85% has started initiatives aimed at combining professional life and personal life of employees (smart working, kindergartens, flexibility, canteen, permits, transport facilities). 86% have acted on initiatives aimed at increasing the welfare of employees (premi, benefit, health care, leisure and parental benefits). 30 SMEs have already obtained or applied to obtain certification for gender equality. The ninth edition of the Award confirms that investing on people and their well-being, on welfare and training generates a favorable context for the growth of the enterprise and the business: 94% estimated the turnover in increase or stable (YoY); 64% started and/or consolidated export and internationalization activities; well over half (65%) are SMEs with more than twenty years of activity behind them; Manufacturing, healthcare and services confirm the most represented sectors. In addition to the billion euros made available for female companies that start a new business or invest in the strengthening of their business by acting on the threads such as digitization, innovation and widening of skills, Intesa Sanpaolo adds financial support through S-Loan Diversity, an innovative solution combined with some medium-long-term funding that rewards with a reduced rate the efforts of enterprises in the direction of gender equality, employees in the development of new welfare programs. To date 183 loans were granted for over 250 million euros. The Bank also structured an offer to facilitate access to state benefits: Business Gemma is the medium- and long-term financing dedicated to female enterprises and self-employed workers, who benefit from the Guarantee Fund for SMEs and the suspension up to a year of the capital share of instalments; Mum@work, financing under advantageous conditions for working mothers, also self-employed, which integrates economic availability to facilitate reconciliation between professional life and family commitments; Welfare Hub, the service with which companies can increase the personal and family well-being of their employees, thanks to access to a digital platform in which you can spend your ‘Welfar credit by choosing between goods and services in areas of greater interest (house and family, health and well-being, savings and leisure).
– photo xh7/Italpress –(ITALPRESS).
