Public funding in Italy
Since 1 July 2026, ON no longer offers grants. Find the public money still open to you.
Smart&Start, ON, Autoimpiego, regional calls, the EIC Accelerator: each sets its own conditions and its own clock. I read them against your company, tell you which programmes are yours and prepare the file.
Memo in 5 working daysEnglish, Italian or PortugueseNDA on request
Four programmes on the table. The memo sorts out which are yours.
Where you are
Every programme has its own rules. Nobody tells you which is yours.
The money is real: Smart&Start alone has granted €721 million to 1,444 startups. The rules are the hard part. One programme looks at the company’s age, another at yours. Others care about your region, or about what you were doing before.
What you actually need is shorter. Which ones are mine? In what order? By when?
Five facts decide which programmes are yours.
What the rules say
Finding the programmes is easy. Matching one to your company is the work.
One birthday changes the programme
Smart&Start’s 90% rate is for teams made up entirely of women and people under 36. ON wants more than half the members and shares held by women or people aged 18 to 35. Autoimpiego stops at 34.
A business plan in a form
Smart&Start wants a four-year income statement and cash flow. It also wants a two-year table of sources and uses. The plan itself goes into text boxes capped at 1,500 to 4,000 characters.
Zero interest isn’t a grant
Smart&Start and ON lend at zero interest, for up to 10 years. Autoimpiego and Nuova Impresa pay grants. The cash-flow table treats them very differently.
The real price
What a missed window really costs you.
Your window in Lombardy
Nuova Impresa 2026, the Lombardy call, closes on 29 January 2027 at noon, or earlier if the money runs out. Its budget has already been raised once, from €8 million to €11.8 million.
Your company’s clock
Smart&Start and ON both stop at a company age of 60 months. Both also accept teams that haven’t incorporated yet, so the order of your steps matters.
Your early purchases
Autoimpiego Centro-Nord covers only expenses dated after the application, and the activity must start in the month you apply or the month before. An invoice from last week is yours alone.
Where you want to be
Now picture the day you file.
Every box sits inside its limit. The four-year tables agree with each other, and every planned cost carries a date. The examination runs on its own clock. You spend the weeks on the company.
If the answer is yes, you know the next step. If it’s no, the same file is ready for the next programme.
What you receive
The eligibility memo, in one page.
Every memo opens with a one-page verdict like this one, then goes programme by programme. The company below is fictional.
Eligibility memo · Sestante Labs, Milan
Which programmes fit, and by when
- Company. Sestante Labs S.r.l., Milan, an innovative startup, 14 months old. Three founders aged 38, 41 and 44. Plan: €400,000 over two years.
- Smart&Start. Fits. Under the 60-month limit. A zero-interest loan of 80% of eligible costs, so €320,000 at most.
- Autoimpiego Centro-Nord. Does not fit. It is for ages 18 to 34.
- Nuova Impresa. Fits. It’s a grant, covering up to 50% of eligible costs with a cap of €10,000. Applications stay open until 29 January 2027, or until the money runs out.
- Order. Nuova Impresa first, since the clock is running on it. Smart&Start has no deadline. The plan is built around it.
When a programme doesn’t fit, the memo says why. You won’t be asking the same question again next month.
Each programme gets its own list of the costs it would cover, with the date they count from.
Example lines from the same fictional memo.
Three levels
Choose the depth your company needs.
Starter
The eligibility memo
5 working days · 1 revision
Which programmes fit your company and which don’t, with the date that decides each.
- A verdict on each programme
- Age limits, dates and budgets
- The documents each one asks for
Standard
The application pack
3 to 5 weeks · 2 revisions
Everything in the memo, then the application itself, written to the call’s template and limits.
- Everything in The memo
- Plan sections and financial tables
- Cost schedule and filing checklist
Advanced
Funding support
3 months · renewable
For companies filing more than once or aiming at the EIC Accelerator: I stay on from first file to answer.
- A dated calendar across programmes
- Help with the agency’s requests
- The next application, started early
A fixed fee for each level, confirmed in writing before anything starts. Any success component is agreed in writing too. What if nothing fits yet? The memo still ends with one next step and its date.
How it works
From first message to a file you can submit.
Send the basics
Age, founders’ ages, region, plan, what’s already spent. A short form, or a call.
Get a written scope
Level, fee and delivery date within one working day, before any work starts.
The work
I read the calls against your company and write the memo, or the application itself.
Delivery
The memo or the pack, with a dated calendar, ready for you to file.
Why Adaxit
Rules read by the person who writes the file.
Adaxit prepares startups and SMEs for capital and for growth across borders, public money included. From Milan, we work on Italian and European calls.
Done personally
Every memo and application is written by Cassio Thiengo, Adaxit’s founder. No juniors, and no text copied from another file.
Numbers and story together
The plan sections, the four-year tables and the cost schedule have to agree. I build them in one pass.
Italian and European calls
Smart&Start, ON, Autoimpiego, regional calls such as Nuova Impresa in Lombardy, and the EIC Accelerator.
A plain no
If nothing fits, the memo says so, with the date to check again. A no costs you five days, not a quarter.
Honest fit
Is it for you?
It’s for you if
- You run a startup or SME in Italy, or a foreign team planning a seat here.
- You want to know which programmes are yours before you spend.
- You’d rather file one complete application than three rushed ones.
It’s not for you if
- You need a promise of approval. Only the agency decides, and nobody can promise it.
- You’re looking for equity investors. That’s a different path: see the fundraising sprint.
Questions
Before you write to me.
Will you promise me the grant or the loan?
No. The agency decides, and nobody can promise its answer. I make sure you apply to the right programme, on time, with a complete file. I don’t lend or raise money.
Can a foreign team or company apply?
Some do. Smart&Start Italia accepts teams that will incorporate in Italy, startup-visa holders included, and foreign companies that commit to a seat here. Startup visa guide.
Do you cover the EIC Accelerator?
Yes, from the short application to the interview. In the round of 17 February 2026, 61 of the 121 companies interviewed were selected for funding. Our EIC Accelerator guide explains each stage.
How soon will I have the memo or the pack?
The memo takes 5 working days and the application pack 3 to 5 weeks, from the written scope. The agency’s examination is separate: within 60 days for Smart&Start, within 90 for Autoimpiego.
Your next window
Every programme has a date that decides it. Know yours before you spend.
I write every memo myself, so I take on only a few at a time. Tell me about your company today. Within one working day you’ll have a written scope and a delivery date.
Want to read first? The Smart&Start guide covers the basicsRequest the memo
A few facts about the company are enough to start.
Sources: Invitalia, Smart&Start Italia (80% and 90% of costs, 60 months, 60 days, ages; 1,444 startups and €721 million, data to 31 August 2026) and its application templates; MIMIT, Smart&Start page, 2 September 2026 (10 years); Invitalia, ON, notice of 1 July 2026 (grants exhausted, loans only, 10 years, ages); Invitalia, Autoimpiego Centro-Nord and its FAQ (ages 18 to 34, 90 days, expenses after the application); Regione Lombardia, Nuova Impresa 2026 (50%, €10,000, 29 January 2027, budget raised on 28 September 2026); European Innovation Council, EIC Accelerator page and round results of 17 February 2026. All read on 6 October 2026. The €320,000 is our own arithmetic.