The digitization of small and medium-sized enterprises in Italy could lead to a contribution of 10.2 billion euros to GDP and 208,000 new jobs.
The SMEs that use digital channels have managed to grow their revenues by 20%, their customers by 30% and the number of followers by 40% with a 50% increase in visits to physical stores.
It is the result of a study carried out for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, by The European House - Ambrosetti and presented in Rome during the round table 'The contribution of social networks and digital channels for the growth and digitization of Italian SMEs'.
According to the Digital Index Pmi, developed for the occasion by Ambrosetti, Italian small and medium-sized enterprises are in 18th place in the EU27 in terms of digitization and digital interaction with customers.
The delay in the development of digital skills is even greater: they are in 21st place, with the lowest levels of IT specialists in Europe.
A gap made even more evident by the fact that only 15% of Italian SMEs are able to provide digital training to their employees (the EU average is 18%).
If Italy reaches the values of Denmark, Finland and Sweden, the three 'best performer' countries, it could increase labor productivity in SMEs by up to 9.2% and generate up to 24.8 billion euros of additional contribution to the GDP
"Digital tools have never been as important as they are now. The study shows that digital can contribute to significantly increasing employment, even in those areas where our country is still lagging behind in Europe" , declared Luca Colombo, Meta Country Director in Italy.
"The delays in the area of network infrastructures and digital skills in companies are particularly critical. It is therefore more urgent than ever to intervene to allow the full development potential of the country system to be fully deployed", added Valerio De Molli, Managing Director partner and CEO of The European House - Ambrosetti.
