Strategic Investments in Italy 2025 are closely tied to the central role of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), stemming from extensive reflection that involves CDP and other national and international economic institutions. This reflection focuses on strengthening the Italian entrepreneurial fabric, exploring future growth scenarios, and examining the ongoing transitions in Europe. It delves into key strategic investments in Italy by 2025, highlighting CDP’s intervention plans to support infrastructure, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), local communities, and complex projects. Special attention is given to CDP’s involvement in boosting competitiveness, innovation, sustainability, and the potential impact of generative AI on business models.
Cassa Depositi e Prestiti’s Key Role in Strategic Investments for Italy 2025
Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is a joint-stock company controlled by the Italian State. It was originally established in Turin in 1850 to receive deposits as a trustworthy public institution. Shortly afterward, in 1857, a Royal Decree added the function of providing financing to public entities. Its historical trajectory underlines its central place in Italy’s progress, as it was instrumental in expanding essential infrastructure and services. Postal savings were introduced in 1875 with the launch of savings passbooks, which financed public works and helped reduce the debt of local authorities. Interest-bearing bonds (Buoni Fruttiferi) followed in 1924, further reinforcing CDP’s channels for raising funds.
A crucial aspect of this evolution also appeared on the organizational front. In 1983, CDP began separating its operations from the State, and on December 12, 2003, it was converted into a joint-stock company (S.p.A.) to align its structure with market competitiveness principles, while still maintaining State control. Today, the Ministry of Economy and Finance holds 70% of the shares, and over sixty banking foundations collectively own the remaining 30%. This ownership structure makes Cassa Depositi e Prestiti a pivotal player in Italy’s strategic investments for 2025.
Governance rests with a Board of Directors composed of nine members, with an additional five members joining whenever decisions on State-guaranteed loans are made. The company’s organizational structure is divided into two main operational areas:
Separate Management
Supports investments by the State, Regions, Provinces, Municipalities, and other public entities. Funding for this activity is drawn from State-guaranteed sources such as Postal Savings Passbooks and Interest-Bearing Bonds.
Ordinary Management
Enables CDP to fund businesses and projects that do not fall under its more institutional interventions.
This dual configuration, laid out in legislation, ensures that State-backed funding is kept separate from market-based resources, thus complying with State aid regulations and promoting a level competitive field.
Beyond traditional lending, CDP has expanded its scope to include private equity operations, a strong focus on both national and international infrastructure, and the enhancement of public real estate assets. It now holds stakes in both publicly traded and privately held companies, as well as shares in private investment funds. The core institutional function of CDP lies in using postal savings as a driving force for infrastructure initiatives and projects serving the public interest, including engagement with private companies whenever projects meet economic and creditworthiness criteria. Through separate management, the Italian State directly guarantees such resources on par with government debt securities. However, under ordinary management, projects can be funded without State guarantees.
These historical foundations are not merely a legacy; rather, they actively influence CDP’s current mission. Its 2025–2027 Strategic Plan underscores the intent to reinforce its standing as a promotional partner in Italy’s development, strengthening ties with businesses and infrastructure sectors. The plan cites surpassing 3 billion euros in profit for the first time, evidence of robust financial health, alongside enhanced ESG ratings (Moody’s Analytics, Morningstar Sustainalytics, and ISS ESG)—a sign of CDP’s commitment to both profitability and social impact. The institution aims to facilitate access to Next Generation EU resources by assisting central and local administrations with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and the associated investments in core areas such as infrastructure, energy, water management, waste, and public services.
According to the plan, four strategic priorities take center stage:
Enterprise Competitiveness
Security, understood as reducing dependence on critical raw materials
Just Transition, encouraging the energy shift and circular economy
Territorial Cohesion, with a particular focus on Southern Italy
Implementation hinges on an operational model that leverages advisory services for public administration, direct equity investments, real-asset projects such as social housing, urban regeneration, tourism, and the scaling-up of international operations, especially in Africa.
The document “Investments in Italy 2025: Data, Challenges, and Opportunities for the Future” places CDP’s role within a broader context. Economic projections suggest modest GDP growth in Italy by 2025, influenced by demographic decline, global market uncertainties, inflationary pressures, and higher interest rates that may curb some investments. Hence, providing credit access to businesses—especially SMEs—and supporting public administrations in effectively managing EU recovery funds become crucial tasks.
CDP’s historical legacy has effectively turned it into a promotional finance platform capable of mobilizing both public and private resources for inclusive growth, supporting projects that combine social impact with economic viability. Success in this mission relies not only on solid funding sources but also on how CDP executes its competencies, promoting a development model that invests in infrastructure, research, and digital transformation while fostering social cohesion, particularly in education, housing, and the renewal of urban environments.
Economic Strategies Backing Italy’s 2025 Investments: CDP’s Contributions
The insights provided by the “Investments in Italy 2025” document shed new light on Italy’s economic and financial outlook during the 2025–2027 timeframe covered by CDP’s Strategic Plan. On one hand, there are opportunities arising from public policies and the drive toward a green and digital transition. On the other hand, challenges persist, including a declining birth rate, an aging population, ongoing geopolitical tensions, and global market volatility.
According to the data, the Italian economy is likely to end 2024 with growth below 1% of GDP, hampered by declining private investments and limited liquidity due to high interest rates. At the same time, household consumption is robust, supported by historically high employment levels (24.1 million employed as of October 2024). Projections for 2025 suggest a slight uptick in GDP growth to around 0.8%, coupled with a gradual reduction in ECB interest rates and an inflation rate settling at approximately 2.0%. Yet, uncertainty on the global stage could still hold back private investments, making stronger public and institutional support essential.
CDP can contribute significantly here, offering credit to businesses, helping to bridge the financing gap that particularly affects SMEs and Southern regions. Such initiatives are a core objective for strategic investments in Italy by 2025. Balancing this support with banking channels and pursuing alternative financing solutions is key to fueling growth and backing technological innovation, including AI adoption. Generative AI, for instance, is expanding rapidly, reshaping internal business processes, and opening entirely new horizons for workforce training and skill management. Analysts estimate that harnessing these advanced tools could increase productivity by over 5% in roughly 40% of businesses, partly compensating for demographic decline and the shortage of skilled workers in many industries.
Funding efforts extend beyond traditional infrastructure such as roads, bridges, or digital networks, encompassing energy security and water efficiency. Since water resource availability and distribution remain critical, especially in vulnerable areas, CDP has plans to increase involvement in infrastructure project financing with measurable local development impacts. The approach is one of “additionality,” injecting new capital where the market alone cannot, balancing risk, returns, and environmental or social impact.
On the international front, CDP strives to serve as a “bridge” between Italian companies and fast-growing markets like sub-Saharan Africa. The organization’s 2025–2027 plan outlines proposals to open extra-EU offices in Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire to align with local priorities and identify potential collaborations with other development banks. This global dimension is not just about expanding commercial boundaries but also about leveraging EU programs like InvestEU, which provides resources and guarantees for high-priority endeavors in strategic sectors.
Italy’s competitiveness will hinge on cooperation among institutions, enterprises, and the financial sector. Within the public sphere, besides CDP, the Public Administration also has a primary role in effectively harnessing national and European cohesion funds. Statistics indicate that over 140 billion euros have been allocated for cohesion policies in the 2021–2027 period, and partnerships with CDP can help reach local entities that lack the technical and financial expertise to benefit from these funds.
In this context, advisory services become a decisive element. Drawing on its extensive know-how, CDP can guide the design and implementation of projects financed through EU funds, assisting public administrations in overcoming delays and optimizing results. By embedding sustainability into its business model, CDP positions itself as a promotional bank that assesses projects through a risk-return-impact lens, balancing financial performance with social benefits. Improvements in ESG ratings confirm the organization’s pledge to incorporating environmental, social, and governance criteria into investment decisions.
Macroeconomic analysis also indicates that the stability of the Eurozone and conditions in key trading partners (notably Germany and the United States) will substantially affect Italian exports. Challenges within German industry, policy changes in the United States, and emerging protectionist trends add complexity. As a result, Italian companies must strengthen themselves, both financially and technologically. CDP can support business aggregations centered on “systemic cooperation,” expanding the pool of exporters and enhancing supply-chain resilience.
The need to promote investments has reached a pivotal point. From logistics and energy to hospitality and social housing, transformation depends on effective private-sector involvement, backed by institutional support. Where the market struggles to handle more intricate financing needs, CDP is poised to act as a “solid partner” for public agencies and businesses alike, creating synergies with public funds and potentially channeling private capital into long-term, high-value projects for the community.
Innovation and AI in Strategic Investments: CDP’s Vision for 2025
The evaluations by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and the “Investments in Italy 2025” document underscore the need to merge CDP’s traditional role as a promotional bank with a pronounced focus on technological innovation and digitalization. The adoption of AI solutions, particularly generative AI, presents opportunities for both large companies and SMEs to strengthen their competitive positions.
The document notes that, despite Italy’s strong manufacturing base and its well-known export orientation, its venture capital ecosystem lags behind countries like Germany or France. Fostering an environment where new technology-intensive businesses can flourish, along with innovative startups, entails nurturing a more dynamic private equity market. Capital rotation and the so-called “crowding-in” of institutional investors can help achieve critical mass. In this regard, CDP has already begun programs to support high-potential companies through direct equity investments, aiming to build internationally competitive industrial supply chains.
Such support is not limited to the early stages of a company; rather, it extends to ensuring continued growth. In its 2025–2027 Strategic Plan, CDP emphasizes that one of its guiding principles is preserving its own financial strength while carefully increasing its risk exposure to priority ventures related to the energy transition, innovation, and territorial cohesion. This approach highlights that, while spurring innovation, CDP aims to manage risk responsibly, combining technical expertise and financial analysis into a unified strategy.
An additional concern tied to innovation involves cybersecurity and the energy consumption that widespread generative AI adoption can entail. The implications here are significant: safeguarding corporate data and ensuring responsible AI usage become essential, as does investing in digital infrastructure (cloud services, advanced computing, etc.) to meet rising demand. This objective aligns with reducing dependence on external energy and technological resources, potentially through public-private partnerships designed to bolster strong domestic competencies.
At the operational level, CDP’s strategy includes a more regionally oriented model that sets up local coordination hubs and shared offices with banking foundations. These foundations—already involved as shareholders—are well-positioned to understand the needs of businesses in local areas. Together, they can reduce information gaps and promote discussions among entrepreneurs, financial institutions, universities, and research centers, fostering the use of AI, automation, and digital transformation even in sectors like agribusiness or tourism, which have been slower to adopt advanced technologies.
Innovation efforts also align with the energy transition. CDP sees the just transition as one of its core principles, proposing initiatives for the circular economy and climate adaptation projects. Concurrently, it highlights the importance of real-asset investments, focusing on social housing, senior and student housing, new tourism models, and urban redevelopment. The goal is to attract third-party and institutional investors, channeling resources toward improving Italy’s real estate portfolio with an emphasis on energy efficiency. This focus dovetails with the broader aim of making Italian cities more livable and aligned with EU sustainability targets.
Within the broader macroeconomic scenario, green initiatives and technological innovation remain vital in combating inflationary pressures and implementing major projects that deliver medium- to long-term impact. CDP’s dedication to global collaboration is evidenced by its cooperation with similar promotional banks in Europe and through its participation in EU funding and advisory programs. By leveraging these opportunities, CDP can extend its impact, provide various financing instruments, and open pathways for Italian companies to compete in international markets.
Looking beyond 2025, some challenges call for forward-looking policies. Demographic change is among the most pressing, potentially affecting the availability of labor and, by extension, overall productivity. Integrating new technologies like AI should be viewed not as a threat to jobs but as an opportunity to enhance efficiency and encourage younger generations to seek careers in high-potential sectors. Workforce education and cultural shifts within organizations become pivotal, as emphasized by CDP’s resolve to bolster its internal human capital and attractiveness for specialized talent.
Overall, the forecasts for investments and macroeconomic conditions in Italy show that an integrated approach is essential for future growth. Coordination among financial institutions, enterprises, and both central and local governments is the only way to maximize the impact of development plans pursued by the Cassa. Drawing upon specialized expertise, an ability to innovate, a deep appreciation for the entrepreneurial fabric, and a focus on local communities forms the essence of CDP’s strategy to overcome longstanding barriers to Italy’s competitiveness.
CONCLUSIONS
Comparing CDP’s 2025–2027 Strategic Plan with the information found in “Investments in Italy 2025” reveals that Italy is at a critical juncture for defining its competitive edge. The emphasis now goes beyond metrics like profit or total invested resources, turning instead toward the ambition to serve as a promotional bank committed to social impact and environmental sustainability, while still maintaining financial solidity.
The broader European and global context suggests a renewed focus on energy autonomy, better stewardship of key raw materials, and interest-rate management aimed at long-term stability. As new technologies play an increasing role in providing financing and business support tools, CDP’s strategy extends well past traditional lending, involving knowledge transfer, local outreach, partnerships with banking institutions and foundations, equity investments, and collaboration with private capital markets.
Infrastructure development, the rise of generative AI, and the green economy must also adapt to geopolitical tensions and unpredictable market conditions. Past lessons demonstrate that unforeseen challenges can arise, but methodical planning and goal-sharing with all economic actors help reinforce resilience. For entrepreneurs and managers, this environment calls for reimagining supply chains, integrating emerging technologies, and sometimes collaborating with competitors in the pursuit of greater collective efficiency.
Establishing regional hubs and bolstering dialogue with local enterprises distinguish CDP’s approach from the strategies of many other financial institutions. Such measures may help assess local needs more accurately, offering tailor-made advisory services to address weaknesses or leverage emerging opportunities. Meanwhile, cooperating closely with the European Union—through programs like InvestEU—will likely prove crucial in turning Italy into a prime venue for highly innovative projects that can also foster high-value employment.
Though many of the financial tools and risk-sharing mechanisms supporting businesses are already known in the market, having a promotional bank under State control act in harmony with other European development banks and private investors creates a sense of cohesion. This unity can see initiatives through from concept to implementation, bridging gaps that might otherwise remain insurmountable.
Looking ahead, the trajectory is clear: attention to the ecological and energy transition, a firm commitment to digital innovation, the safeguarding of Italy’s cultural and social fabric, and investment in forward-thinking skill sets. Rather than a patchwork of isolated measures, there is a push to redefine public investment and economic growth in a manner that sees sustainability as the structural foundation for competitiveness and opportunity.
For business leaders, the main task involves aligning with these developmental pathways, selecting technologies and markets compatible with national and EU priorities. CDP’s presence as a partner offers access to expertise, guarantees, and resources that might otherwise be out of reach. In this sense, broader adoption of collaborative models and openness to advanced financing instruments—ranging from venture capital to hybrid loans—may allow Italy to regain momentum and reestablish itself as a hotbed of innovation, leveraging its manufacturing tradition together with AI and sustainability.
Ultimately, this fosters a renewed covenant of trust among the State, enterprises, and society. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti serves as a proving ground for solutions that the contemporary European context finds increasingly vital for maintaining competitiveness and inclusive growth. Ideally, this progression will strengthen further, enabling the system as a whole to demonstrate that modernity can coexist with heritage, and that innovation, properly fostered and directed, is a cornerstone of the nation’s economic and social prosperity.
Comments