Introduction Campania, a strategic region for the development of Italy s Mezzogiorno and the gate between Europe and the Mediterranean, boasts a cutting-edge productive system, with excellences recorded in high-tech sectors and agrifood, its typical products being well established on international markets. The region s territory includes plenty of tourist attractions, and is provided with an appropriate infrastructural and logistic network to support enterprises and trade. The economic system of Campania, which features as many as 660,512 enterprises over a population of 5,861,529, showed major signs of recovery in 2014, with an increase in the number of capital companies (141,721, +5.1% compared to 2013). The business birth/mortality ratio at the end of 2014 confirmed its positive value, with an increase in young companies, which accounted for over 37% of the newly-established ones 2 3
and 27% of women-run ones in the first quarter of 2015. Throughout the region, the share of under-35 businesses out of the total of the companies registered with Chambers of Commerce is remarkably higher than the Italian average (5.9%), the province of Caserta ranking third nationally (12,923 enterprises, that is 14.4% of registered companies), Naples ninth (35,691, 12.9%); Salerno eleventh (15,211, 12.8%); Avellino nineteenth (5,097, 11.7%); Benevento twenty-third (3,894, 11.3%). These positive elements are proof of the evolution and dynamism of the region s production system. Factors which contribute to creating more favourable conditions for the setting up of new enterprises are linked to a major process that the area is going through, with a greater presence of capital companies which, being more structured and better organised, have easier access to credit and can ensure their constant presence and greater competitive nesson international markets. In terms of access to credit, the share of companies aiming for growing investments is rising as well, in particular among small and medium enterprises. The presence of a new generation of young entrepreneurs 4 5
is also due to the closer relationship between research and industry. This translates into a greater competitiveness of the enterprises, based on a more effective technological transfer and the use of better qualified human resources. It is no coincidence, then, that Campania has as many as 240 innovative start-up companies as the Register Infocamere reported in June 2015, recognising Campania as the first region in the South of Italy by number of start-up companies and fifth nationwide. The dynamism of the region s economic system is also due to the positive impact of the ever-growing tourist flows on the internationalisation of typical products, including wine, food and crafts, and to the planning of logistics, which aims at supporting the interchange of Campanian enterprises with the domestic and international markets. 6 7
Naturally export oriented A major factor for the development of the production system in Campania is the strong orientation of enterprises to internationalisation: the increase in the trade exchange with foreign markets in the past two years, amounting to 2,476 million Euros in the first quarter of 2015 (+2.3% compared to 2014) - 2.5% of Italy s total exports - confirms Campania s leading role not only in the South of Italy, but also compared with exports from Sicily (+1.8%) and Sardinia (+1.3%). This dynamic attitude toward international markets is also due to a number of strategic factors, including a constant focus on logistics, namely ports (recording a 7.9% increase in 2014 compared to 2013 in the trade flows at Naples port, for a total 21,079,567 tons, and +11.3% compared to 2013, for a total 12,211,658 tons at the port of Salerno). Similarly, in 2014 international tourist flows grew in terms of passengers flying through Naples Capodichino airport by a rate that is almost double the average of 8 9
Naturally export oriented other Italian airports. The overall inbound and outbound traffic amounted to 5.96 million people, marking a 9.5% increase compared to 2013. In the same trend, cruise traffic in the two ports recorded 1,113,762 passengers in Naples and 143.346 in Salerno in 2014. Among the sectors which most contribute to exports, the leading ones are the agrifood industry, as well as the fashion, automotive and aerospace sectors. Exports in the agrifood sector were worth 2.7 billion Euros, accounting for almost 25% of the region s total, and kept growing in 2014 by 1.9% compared to 2013. The export of canned foods in particular, accounting for 13.9% of the region s total in 2014, has been constantly growing in the past three years. Similarly, sales on European markets are growing (62.3% of the sector s total, or 3% more than in 2013) while new markets have come to include the Far East and North Africa. 10 11
Naturally export oriented A veritable record has been achieved in the agrifood sector for pasta exports, which in 2014 reached 418million Euros, with a 12% increase compared to the previous year. Exports in the fashion industry (textile, clothing) are growing as well, recording a 4.8% increase. Shipbuilding exports are also on the rise, as well as the exports of pharmaceutical products (+3.9%), rubber and plastic materials (+4.2%). 12 13
2014-2020 programming period In the 2014-2020 period, Campania will benefit from a total 21.1 billion Euros, of which 12.7 billion Eurosof Structural Funds (ERDF ESF, namely50% from the EU, 35% from the State and 15% from the Region) and 8.4 billion Development and Cohesion Funds. The Campania ROP ERDF 2014-2020, with 5.4 billion Euros, includes the Major Projects already included in the 2007-2013 programming period. These interventions, from the regeneration of East Naples to the Bagnoli area, from the regional port system to the land reclamation, from the broad band to the exhibition hub of Campania, constitute a major growth trigger to act in strategic sectors such as sustainable transport, logistics, infrastructure and tourism, in order to bring about growth levels in line with the expectations of enterprises and citizens alike. The Major Projects aim at removing all hindrances to growth and promoting better quality of lifeby means of 14 15
2014-2020 programming period material and immaterial interventions, so as to restore Campania s leading role on the European scene in accordance with its natural and cultural resources. The Rural Development Plan 2014-2020 allocates over 1.8 billion Euros to agriculture an investment aiming at valorising products of excellence and supporting the agrifood supply chains in Campania. 16 17
The added value of Campania s hubs The network of Campania s production hubs is an effective tool for the promotion of products of excellence. The integration with the main logistical infrastructure (Naples Capodichino airport and Salerno-Costa d Amalfi airport, the Naples-Salerno port system, as well as the smaller ports of Pozzuoli, Torre Annunziata and Castellammare, the Nola and Marcianise Interports and the Intermodal Terminal) ensures the presence of regional products on the domestic and international markets. Of the agrifood districts, the one with the greatest concentration of enterprises is the Gragnano-Nocera Inferiore area (across the provinces of Naples and Salerno), characterised by the production and processing of various foods, from tomatoes to canned foods, from pasta to wine and olive oil all products with a strong local identity, just like the pasta-making and canning industries. The great tradition of quality leather and footwear is another strong point of Campania, with the two hubs of Solofra (Salerno) and Grumo Nevano (Naples), where approximately 2000 people are employed in almost 400 18 19
The added value of Campania s hubs companies including tanneries, shoe manufacturers, subcontractors and garment makers. The textile sector also has a few interesting representatives in the hubs of Sant Agata dei Goti-Casapulla (across the provinces of Benevento and Caserta), San Giuseppe Vesuviano (Naples) and San Marco dei Cavoti (Benevento). The jewellery sector based in Naples, Torre del Greco and Marcianise brings together over 2,300 companies with a long-standing goldsmith tradition. The supply chain of high-tech industries is another major feature of Campania, which has become one of the few high-tech clusters among the EU s Convergence Objective regions. This is due, in particular, to the aerospace district, with local branches and plants of leading international companies whose highly-innovative production processes create remarkable development opportunities. With a yearly turnover reaching 2,000 million Euros, Campania alone accounts for 25% of Italy s aerospace sector, with 10,000 highly specialised employees. 20 21
Tourism and culture One of the driving sectors of the region s development, tourism plays a crucial role in triggering a lasting growth process. In 2014 both the number of arrivals (4.6 million tourists, between Italians and foreigners, +6.5% since 2009) and the number of overnight stays (18.4 million; +2.6% compared to 2009) confirmed Campania as a top destination in the south of Italy, in line with the performances of many regions in the centre and north of Italy. Campania has proved to be one of the world s major cultural attractors, as shown by the number of international arrivals which reached 1.8 million in 2014, with almost 8 million overnight stays and two-digit increases in the hospitality sector compared to 2013: +22.7% for arrivals and +14.3% for overnight stays. Tourism acts as a trigger on both the internationalisation of businesses and on the pick-up in consumption trends, also thanks to the interconnection between hospitality and a few of Campania s strategic supply chains such 22 23
Tourism and culture as the sea and culture. In particular, Campania s blue economy (fishery, shipbuilding, passenger handling and sports activities) produces 3.4 billion Euros in added value, equal to 4% of the region s total and accounting for 3% of the region s GDP higher than the national average. Culture also generates an economic return of about 3.7 billion Euros in terms of added value, and employs about 74 thousand people. Another growing sector is sustainability, especially with reference to the transformation of production processes. The conversion of most enterprises to green approaches is a great opportunity for the creation of new professional figures in the fields of renewable energy and energy saving. 24 25
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Campania Innovative Region 2020 In line with the EU strategy, Campania has identified its strategic objective in the strengthening of its innovative capacity (Campania Innovative Region), based on the idea that innovation processes and the spreading of new technologies should involve consumers and citizens directly, focusing on social issues and quality of life. In the framework of the 2014-2020 programming period, the Regional Government of Campania has also envisaged a few territorial strategies to reward and support the cities that enhance sustainability in the perspective of Smart Cities and Smart Communities. Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) are integrated programmes of economic transformation which carry out important actions on the territory. 28 29
A plan for growth and competitiveness The Regional Board of Campania has implemented the Action plan for Research and Development, Innovation and ICT. The project aims at enhancing the competitiveness of Campania s production system, supporting synergic, system-based actions. The Plan follows the regional strategy for research and innovation, which aims at empowering the actors involved in the innovation process (Universities, Research Centres, High-Tech Districts, Publicprivate workshops, and Public-private aggregates), setting up a local network of subjects to help spread new technologies, raise awareness among the stakeholders, enhance the technological supply, and support business-oriented initiatives. 30 31
Index Introduction 3 Naturally export-oriented 8 2014-2020 programming period 14 The added value of Campania s hubs 18 Tourism and culture 22 Campania Innovative Region 2020 28 A plan for growth and competitiveness 30 32