Nuove imprese a tasso zero: Italy’s 0% loan, with a €500,000 example

Nuove imprese a tasso zero, now officially ON – Oltre Nuove imprese a tasso zero, is Invitalia’s zero-interest loan for micro and small companies run by people aged 18 to 35 or by women. It covers up to 90% of eligible costs, charges no interest and is repaid over up to ten years. On 12 October 2026 Italy’s Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT) published a decree adding €59 million to the scheme. What most guides still miss is the other half of the story: since 1 July 2026 there is no grant share any more.

Below you’ll find who can apply, how much you can ask for, what changes now that it’s a pure loan, and a €500,000 example with the numbers worked out. If you’re looking for money you never pay back, start with our guide to fondo perduto grants instead.

What is Nuove imprese a tasso zero, and who can apply?

It’s a national scheme, created by Legislative Decree 185/2000 and managed by Invitalia, the national development agency. ON is the official name these days, but most founders still call it by the old one.

The test that matters most is ownership. More than half of the members, and more than half of the shares, must belong to people aged 18 to 35 or to women of any age. Both conditions apply at once. An SRL with three founders under 35 out of four, where the 50-year-old partner holds 60% of the shares, doesn’t qualify.

Then there’s the company itself. It must be micro or small and registered no more than 60 months ago. Individuals who haven’t set up the company yet can apply too, as long as they incorporate within the deadline set in the admission letter. Eligible sectors are manufacturing in industry and crafts, processing of farm products, services to businesses and people, retail and tourism, anywhere in Italy. Majority-women company? Our overview of funding for women entrepreneurs lists what else is open. Under 35? See the grants for young founders.

How much can you get? The spending caps

The cap depends on how old the company is, and it applies to the value of the plan, not to the size of the loan.

Item	Limit
Plan, company up to 36 months old	Up to €1.5 million
Plan, company 36 to 60 months old	Up to €3 million, to expand, diversify or transform the business
Loan	Zero interest, up to 90% of eligible costs, maximum term 10 years
Building works	No more than 30%
Specialist consulting	No more than 5%
Working capital	No more than 20% of investment costs (companies up to 36 months)
Buying property	Tourism only, no more than 40% of the investment
Timing	Plan completed within 24 months of signing the loan contract

The founders put in the remaining 10%. For a company with no revenue yet that’s often the hardest part, so work out early where it will come from. Applications are assessed on their merits, and a plan that’s silent on that 10% starts out weak.

What changed in 2026: €59 million more, no grant

This year brought two pieces of news that only make sense together. First, in a notice dated 30 June 2026 Invitalia announced that the grant money had run out. Until then, companies under 36 months could get 20% of their costs as a grant, and those between 36 and 60 months 15%. Applications filed from 1 July get the zero-interest loan only.

Second, the decree of 16 June 2026, published by MIMIT on 12 October, adds €59 million. The money comes from the Fondo per la crescita sostenibile, out of SIMEST’s 394/81 revolving fund, and it’s there to keep up with demand. According to the ministry, applications in 2026 were up more than 60% on the same period of 2025, at about 380 a month. The decree doesn’t change the rules, and it doesn’t reopen the grant.

So in practice ON is now an interest-free loan. It’s still cheap money. But it’s debt, and your cash plan has to show the repayments.

A €500,000 example: what it funds and what you repay

Picture a furniture maker in Bergamo set up 18 months ago as an SRL. Its two founders are 29 and 33, with 50% of the shares each, and they want to buy a CNC production line.

Item	Amount	Limit
Machinery and equipment	€280,000	—
Software and digital tools	€60,000	—
Building works in the workshop	€60,000	12% of the plan, under 30%
Specialist consulting	€20,000	4%, under 5%
Working capital	€80,000	19% of investments, under 20%
Total plan	€500,000	Under €1.5 million

At the maximum coverage the zero-interest loan comes to €450,000, and the founders put in €50,000. Over ten years the company pays back €450,000 and not a cent more, which works out at €45,000 of principal a year on average.

What is that zero worth? The same loan from a bank at 4% (an assumption, not an offer) would cost around €100,000 in interest over ten years. That saving is still there without the grant.

And what did the end of the grant cost? Under the rules in force until 30 June, up to €100,000 of the €450,000, that is 20% of the costs, would have come as a grant. Today that €100,000 is extra debt. If your financial model was built on the old rules, rebuild it.

How to apply, and how the money arrives

You apply online only, on Invitalia’s platform. It’s an assessed procedure with an open desk: the desk has been open since 24 March 2022 with no closing date, and applications are examined until the money runs out. Applying doesn’t entitle you to the loan; that depends on how the project is assessed. The detailed rules are in the directorial circular of 8 April 2021, no. 117378.

Once you’re admitted and sign the contract, you have 24 months to carry out the plan. The money arrives in stages as the work progresses, in no more than five payments including the final one. In the first stage you can submit unpaid invoices for up to 20% of the aid, and up to 30% in later stages. With a bank guarantee you can ask for an advance of up to 40% of the total.

Your business plan carries the application. New to writing one? Our step-by-step business plan guide starts from zero.

ON or Smart&Start Italia?

If your company is an innovative startup listed in the special section of the business register, also look at Smart&Start Italia. It lends 80% of a €100,000 to €1.5 million plan at zero interest, 90% for all-women or under-36 teams, and in the South 30% is never repaid. ON doesn’t ask you to be innovative; it asks that young people or women own the company. Which one fits depends on your company and your plan.

Related terms

• Fondo perduto: what a non-repayable grant is and which schemes still offer one in 2026.
• Grants for founders under 35: what’s open for young founders in Italy.
• Funding for women entrepreneurs: the schemes still open for women-led companies.
• Startup financial model: how to fit loan repayments into the plan.
• Startup grants in Italy: what’s open this autumn, with the status of each.

This page is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Rules and terms change: check the official source or ask a professional before you act.