SIMEST

Rome, Italy·Founded 1991·

Growth EquityVenture Capital

·simest.it

SIMEST is the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) Group company, founded in 1991 and based in Rome, that supports the international growth of Italian firms through export finance (Fund 394/81 subsidised loans), export-credit support, and minority equity co-investments. On the equity side SIMEST takes stakes of up to 49 percent (never exceeding the Italian shareholder) in Italian companies or, more often, in their foreign or domestic subsidiaries, co-investing alongside the industrial parent or a private-equity lead investor, typically with a buy-back by the promoter after up to eight years. It deploys its own balance sheet blended with the state Venture Capital / Participatory Investments and Growth (Sezione Crescita) resources of Fund 394/81 managed for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its participatory investments and venture-capital portfolio reached about EUR 759m in 2024. The classic book is a large tail of temporary minority stakes in unnamed foreign subsidiaries disclosed only in aggregate; only press-sourced named co-investments are trackable at company level.