“Turin, thanks in part to a number of contextual factors, is a city where the ambition to generate social impact is rooted in a long-standing culture. It has strong historical and cultural foundations that have helped foster the development of a unique ecosystem.”
This was the view expressed by Mario Calderini, economist and Full Professor at the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano, during the presentation of a new impact study by PerMicro, Italy’s largest company dedicated to financial inclusion through lending to people in vulnerable situations. The study was conducted by Triadi, a research spin-off of Politecnico di Milano focused on innovation and social impact.
“Turin offers educational opportunities that are unparalleled in Europe, together with a particularly high concentration of financial institutions and businesses. All of this places the city at the forefront of the business models of the future. PerMicro is a concrete example of this, with recognition extending beyond Italy, within Turin’s social innovation ecosystem,” Calderini added.
The presentation of PerMicro’s results took place at the headquarters of Ersel Banca Privata in Piazza Solferino, with the participation of partners Fondazione Sviluppo e Crescita CRT, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo and Narval Investimenti.
The research
The social impact assessment covering the period from 2009 to 2022 shows that more than 9,000 people benefited from financing provided by PerMicro, including individuals and micro-enterprises that had initially been excluded from traditional banking channels.
Over 14 years, PerMicro recorded average annual growth of 30% in the amount of financing disbursed, rising from €1.5 million in 2009 to €26 million in 2022.
A total of 3,601 jobs were created through businesses launched with PerMicro’s support, involving women, people under the age of 35 and foreign nationals.
The study also confirms the role of microcredit as an effective tool for reducing economic vulnerability: more than 1,700 entrepreneurs improved their working conditions, while more than 2,500 saw an increase in their monthly income.
In 2024, the year in which PerMicro reached break-even for the first time in its history, the company supported 3,030 projects across Italy and disbursed more than €35 million in financing. Thirty-nine percent of the businesses financed were led by women, up from 37% in 2023, while 31% were led by people under 35, including 57 entrepreneurs under the age of 26.
Francesca Giubergia, President of PerMicro, said:
“PerMicro is the largest company in Italy dedicated to financial inclusion through the provision of credit to people in vulnerable situations across the country, with a mission centred on social inclusion. Although we are a small company compared with the major financial institutions, we are regarded as a unique case in Italy and even at European level.”
“A well-established organisation”
Guido Giubergia, President of Ersel Banca Privata and Narval Investimenti, highlighted PerMicro’s milestone:
“Eighteen years ago, together with Fondazione Paideia, we launched PerMicro with the ambitious goal of offering a concrete and sustainable pathway to economic and social inclusion. Today, we can proudly say that that vision has developed into a well-established organisation.”
Reaching break-even, he added, “demonstrates both the maturity of the project and the effectiveness of the microfinance model we have developed and supported over the years.”
Cristina Di Bari, Chair of Fondazione Sviluppo e Crescita CRT, stated: “Fondazione Sviluppo e Crescita CRT, the impact-oriented entity of Fondazione CRT, has been a partner of PerMicro since 2009, with the aim of broadening access to the credit system through support pathways for people who wish to move out of a condition of financial instability. Providing support and enabling tools for managing a micro-enterprise or overcoming a difficult period in the family budget means strengthening the community as a whole, creating opportunities for economic growth and social stability. Reading the data that have emerged over the years through valuable monitoring is certainly useful for consolidating a social finance model that is increasingly responsive to the needs of a middle segment of the population, often enterprising and hardworking, as well as deserving of support to consolidate its active role in society.”
Alberto Anfossi, Secretary General of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, stated: “PerMicro’s mission, which involves providing credit to people who are not bankable, is clearly difficult to achieve by relying solely on market instruments, yet it responds to a very significant social need, as shown by the impact measurements presented today. After a long journey, we can now say that PerMicro is able to pursue its mission sustainably, basing its operations on self-financing. As Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, we are
particularly pleased to have contributed, with our patient capital, to achieving this result.”
The research methodology for PerMicro
In 2015, PerMicro began a structured process with Politecnico di Milano to measure its social impact, now carried forward by Triadi, a spin-off of Politecnico di Milano. After an initial phase focused on analysing loans disbursed between 2009 and 2014, the assessment was progressively extended to subsequent years and, since 2021, has become a systematic activity, with annual measurements carried out 24–36 months after financing is disbursed. This approach has made it possible not only to report the results achieved, but also to
improve the effectiveness of future actions through an in-depth understanding of the social and economic changes generated.