The social base of Cgm Finance continues to grow: as at 31 December 2025 there were 437 members, with 23 new entries during the year, including social cooperatives, consortia, foundations and associations. The network is spread throughout Italy, with a greater concentration in the north of Italia but with operations also in the south.
A significant contribution to business development came from European guarantee instruments. In particular, the agreement with the European Investment Fund (EIF), within the InvestEU programme, has strengthened access to credit for social enterprises. The guarantee covers up to 80% of the financing risk for a period of up to 12 years and has helped to improve access conditions for beneficiaries. Over the past five years, guaranteed operations have exceeded 280, totalling more than EUR 45 million.
A critical look at the future
Alongside the positive elements, however, some structural criticalities remain. The first issue concerns access to credit: while there are a large number of non-profit organisations active in Italia, only a limited number manage to establish stable relations with the financial system. Several factors influence this, including the prudential requirements applied by banks and the time required for preliminary investigations.
Possible lines of development concern both the supply side and the demand side. On the one hand, there is a need to strengthen guarantee instruments and to develop financial products with longer time horizons, consistent with the nature of social investments. On the other, there is a need to support the capital strengthening of organisations and to improve their financial planning capacity.
The non-profit sector continues to confirm a certain resilience even in times of crisis, with signs of growth in terms of employment and business volumes. However, the challenge of making the link between finance and social development more effective remains open, strengthening an ecosystem that, although showing signs of evolution, has not yet expressed its full potential.