Rome, 12 September 2022 – The digital and technological transition of Italian SMEs is also dependent on the professional skills of their more than 6 million workers. With headcounts of between 10 and 500, SMEs need to adapt and improve their skills to stay competitive and keep employment levels unchanged. That’s why CDP Venture Capital and BPER Banca have decided to enter into an industrial partnership, investing a total of 12.4 million euro, to set up Gility, a digital platform entirely dedicated to training the employees of small and medium-sized enterprises. 

This is an equal partnership between the Boost Innovation fund, the corporate venture builder of CDP Venture Capital that co-creates new start-ups together with large Italian companies, and BPER Banca, the third largest national banking group in terms of global funding and number of branches, which has always been close to the world of SMEs. Simone Maggi, former CEO and co-founder of the fashion tech start-up Lanieri, acquired by the Reda Group in 2020, will be the CEO of the NewCo. 

More specifically, Gility will select training courses and high-quality content aimed at increasing and stimulating the digital and technological skills of employees of SMEs, as well as providing advice on the most effective training courses to select and services covering the financing, monitoring and reporting of the entire project. 

Gility's overall offer will include upskilling courses aimed at adapting and increasing digital skills and continuous vocational training modules to facilitate the entry and repositioning of employees within new business processes. The user-friendliness of the platform and the quality of the user experience are guaranteed thanks to a technological partnership with Docebo, a leading Italian player in the field of learning management systems.

More specifically, the content available will cover the following macro-areas: marketing and communication, innovation and competitiveness, technologies for the future (from data analytics to programming languages through to IT security), design and development, sustainability and training obligations for workers. All part of a package that, as a whole, will offer over 150 courses and 950 hours of training.

“I strongly believe in continuous training and I am extremely happy to lead this new EdTech start-up,” says Simone Maggi, CEO of Gility. “By using proprietary algorithms and state-of-the-art technologies, we aim to provide companies with a simple tool to deliver the best courses and easy access to financing. Professionals, on the other hand, will have a single point of access to high-quality training in Italy”.

“The digital transition is one of the greatest challenges that SMEs are facing in terms of maintaining their market competitiveness”, says Enrico Resmini, CEO and General Manager of CDP Venture Capital Sgr. “That’s why we have chosen to channel the activity of our corporate venture builder towards a new training tool, the first dedicated to this particular segment, capable of developing training and upskilling courses for workers in an entrepreneurial and productive fabric that is key to the country’s economy”.

The Chair of BPER Banca, Flavia Mazzarella, says: “We are extremely pleased to have entered into such an important partnership, which aims to play a key role in the upskilling of workers, strengthening their skills and facilitating their entry and reintegration into the world of work. We aim to confirm and strengthen our role as a bank that supports Italian SMEs, not only by providing financial services such as global advisory services, but also by making the training projects developed by Gility available”.

To find out more about Gility, visit www.gility.it.