A study released on Wednesday, March 13, reveals a significant growth of 42.7% in businesses managed by migrants from 2011 to 2022, whereas companies managed by Italians experienced a 5% decline during the same timeframe.

This trend brought the total number of companies managed by migrants to 647,797 by the end of 2022, constituting 10.8% of the national total, compared to a modest 7.4% in 2011, according to the report titled 'Immigration and Entrepreneurship in Italy and in Europe,' conducted by the research center IDOS in collaboration with the National Confederation of Craftsmanship and Small and Medium-sized Companies (CNA).

Also read: Italy: One in ten Italian businesses led by immigrants

Companies managed by immigrants mainly in Centre-North

The study points out that migrant-run businesses are mainly located in central and northern regions (77.3%), but are also present in the South, with Lombardy and Lazio emerging as the epicenters of enterprises run by immigrants, with 124,000 and 81,000 companies.

The majority of migrant-run businesses were sole proprietorships, making up nearly three-fourths of all activities run by migrants (480,000, or 74.1%). However, over the years corporations conducted by migrants have grown to 119,000, or 18.4% of the total.

Most migrant-managed businesses focus on services, constituting 59% of the total, with retail and construction following closely at 31.8% and 23.9%, respectively.

Also read: MigraVenture for migrant entrepreneurs in Italy

82% of migrant business owners not from EU countries

The study found that 82% of immigrant business owners hailed from non-EU countries, mainly from Morocco (63,000), Romania (53,000) and China (52,000).

Migrant women are "a significant and growing component of entrepreneurship, representing 24.6% of the total," it noted. They mainly work in services.

The research also highlighted that 75.8% of immigrant entrepreneurs were under the age of 50.

"Our work clearly shows that it is extremely convenient for Italy to promote and make the system of migrant-run companies as solid as possible on its territory, as they serve as a vital network bridge between origin countries and Italy", commented the president of IDOS, Luca Di Sciullo.

"A network bridge that already operates at home, which has also shown good resilience during global crises and that can give a strategic international breath to an entire system that is still quite closed, provincial and weakened," he added.

Also read: Italy: Increase in migrants could lower public debts