More Young Managers in North Italy’s Startups; Southern Italy Leads in Female Business Leadership

Rome: More managers under 35 years of age lead innovative startups in northern Italy while female business leaders are in proportion more relevant in the South, according to a 2024 survey on innovative startups in different geographical areas of Italy published by the Tagliacarne centre of studies and Unioncamere on Thursday.

According to Ansa News Agency, the poll found that under-35s lead 17.2% of innovative startups in the North, with the northwestern Piedmont region at the top of the standings with 23.2%, against the national average of 16.9%, also recorded in the Centre, and 16.4% in the South.

However, the survey found that the situation was completely different when it came to women leading such companies with the South registering the highest number at the helm of innovative startups, or 15.8%, with Molise topping the chart with 27.5%, followed by the Centre (15.1%) and North (11.8%).

The secretary general of Unioncamere, Giuseppe Tripoli, said the “12,000 existing startups place Italy in fourth position in Europe”, although there is room for improvement, “starting with the participation of women which is still not very relevant and must be further encouraged”.

In addition, he said, among existing startups only 6.6% of companies reported revenues or a share capital of more than one million euros between 2019 and 2023. The percentage is a little higher (12.6%) for startups with a patent in strategic technologies, noted Tripoli.

In absolute terms, a higher number of young business leaders and women start-uppers was recorded in the North, which hosts over half of innovative startups led by someone under 35 – 1,084 out of 2,049 – and over one-third of those led by a woman – 745 out of 1,648 – or more than 52% of the total.