The role of private equity in Italy for the development of innovative firms

The recent initiatives to develop a financial market dedicated to the financing of SMEs (AIM) are still in an experimental phase, and since the failure of the Italian New Market, there is no evidence leading us to believe that the initiatives can help effectively solve the problem of gap finance for innovative companies. In the absence of an efficient approach to financial innovation by banks, the main source of funding for innovation remains the private equity, which should be directed to the financial support of strategic business via the strengthening of capital base, provided it is necessary not only to initiate innovation paths but also to resolve the crisis context in which businesses operate.In light of these considerations, the paper develops the issue of financing related to financing innovation and related interventions in the venture capital, with the aim to verify if the private equity actually performs the task of financing the innovations and therefore to understand the extent to which it helps to confront the crisis which firms operating in mature industries are experiencing.