Key Takeaways
- • Italian private equity and venture capital firms invested around €8 billion in Italian companies in 2025, equivalent to 0.4% of GDP, up from just over €3 billion a decade earlier, according to the Bank of Italy's study 'Capital for Growth' published in October.
- • Venture capital investment in Italy rose from €76 million to €1.1 billion over the same decade, but the Italian market remains one-third the size of France's and one-quarter the size of the UK's.
- • Pension funds and insurance companies accounted for just 17% of capital raised by Italian private equity funds between 2021 and 2025, versus a 20% EU average and 33% in the UK.
- • Valerio Podda of Enpam's finance department argued that pension funds' very long-term horizons of 30 to 50 years make them well suited to illiquid investments with long payback periods.
- • Panelists stressed that institutional capital will only support the green transition if ESG criteria are integrated from company selection through portfolio management, with measurable and verifiable sustainability targets.
Summary
Institutional investors, particularly pension funds, are among the most suitable investors for private equity and venture capital and for backing innovative companies developing sustainable-transition solutions, according to a article published by Il Sole 24 ORE. The duration of their liabilities allows them to finance projects with long payback periods and less liquid investments. The article notes that for this capital to advance the transition, ESG criteria must be effectively embedded in investment strategies, from company selection through management of investments, with sustainability targets that are measurable and verifiable over time.
The topic was the focus of the webinar 'Investing in sustainable development: opportunities and challenges from venture capital to private equity', organised by the Forum for Sustainable Finance with CDP as part of the SRI Weeks. Valerio Podda of Enpam's finance department said, "We are thinking in terms of very long-term horizons: 30, 40, 50 years," highlighting pension funds' advantage in supporting less liquid investments.
The Italian venture capital market has grown but remains underdeveloped relative to major European economies. Citing the Bank of Italy's study 'Capital for Growth', published in October, private equity and venture capital firms invested around €8 billion in Italian companies in 2025, or 0.4% of GDP, compared with just over €3 billion ten years earlier. Venture capital investment rose from €76 million to €1.1 billion over the period. In absolute terms, Italy's market remains one-third the size of France's and one-quarter the size of the UK's. These figures cover the sector as a whole, not only companies involved in the sustainable transition.
Limited participation by institutional investors is another constraint. Between 2021 and 2025, the public sector provided 22% of capital raised by Italian private equity funds, while pension funds and insurance companies provided just 17%, compared with EU averages of 20% and 33% in the UK.
The topic was the focus of the webinar 'Investing in sustainable development: opportunities and challenges from venture capital to private equity', organised by the Forum for Sustainable Finance with CDP as part of the SRI Weeks. Valerio Podda of Enpam's finance department said, "We are thinking in terms of very long-term horizons: 30, 40, 50 years," highlighting pension funds' advantage in supporting less liquid investments.
The Italian venture capital market has grown but remains underdeveloped relative to major European economies. Citing the Bank of Italy's study 'Capital for Growth', published in October, private equity and venture capital firms invested around €8 billion in Italian companies in 2025, or 0.4% of GDP, compared with just over €3 billion ten years earlier. Venture capital investment rose from €76 million to €1.1 billion over the period. In absolute terms, Italy's market remains one-third the size of France's and one-quarter the size of the UK's. These figures cover the sector as a whole, not only companies involved in the sustainable transition.
Limited participation by institutional investors is another constraint. Between 2021 and 2025, the public sector provided 22% of capital raised by Italian private equity funds, while pension funds and insurance companies provided just 17%, compared with EU averages of 20% and 33% in the UK.
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