Sviluppo Lazio, Lazio's regional development agency, was founded in 1999 and is charged with the task of implementing the region's economic and territorial agendas. In a region so rich with potential, Sviluppo Lazio's primary mission is to assist in the development of regional infrastructures, manufacturing businesses, and to increase employment. The agency accomplishes this mission in many ways: by promoting enterprise motivated ideology; by sustaining territorial development programs; by participating in infrastructural investment projects and by fostering partnerships between public and private entities.

In order to contribute to the region's growth and bolster the manufacturing industry, Sviluppo Lazio focuses on acquiring and optimizing community, national, and private financial funds to promote international commerce and the internationalization of the regional economic system and to attract foreign investors to the region. Furthermore, Sviluppo Lazio assists local government administrations in project financing analyses and in drafting financial feasibility plans. The agency also provides assistance to regional and local agencies in carrying out such plans. In recent years, Sviluppo Lazio has contributed to the socio-economic growth of the region by conducting studies, research, and analyses of the region and its productive "fabric."

Sviluppo Lazio's corporate structure is rather unique: the Region of Lazio is the majority shareholder in the agency, with local chambers of commerce, various credit and financial institutions, and trade associations comprising the remainder of the shareholders.

Three Forms of Internationalization

The classic model for internationalization focused exclusively on the roles of the various nations involved in the process and limited the task of companies to somehow extending their reach without any adaptation to the targeted foreign market. Today, however, individual businesses play a pivotal role in the globalization process. Their sheer desire to expand and make themselves more competitive is the driving force which brings about economic relations between countries, promotes know-how transfer, creates new networks and encourages companies to assume a position of greater responsibility in the globalization process.

This process takes place in three different ways:

International Trade is the oldest and most traditional type of internationalization, in which a locally made product from an exporting country meets the demands of an importing country.

Direct Foreign Investment can occur in one of two areas: greenfields, which are new areas that have not yet been utilized for industrial purposes and brownfields, which are areas that already have a history of industrial use.

The creation of business networks, which is the most modern manifestation of globalization and is understood as a partnership system, requiring less capital and fewer managers moving abroad. This results in a more efficient integration into the local market.

BIOGRAPHY: Giancarlo Elia Valori
President, Sviluppo Lazio S.p.A.

Giancarlo Elia Valori, manager, professor, and economist of international renown, is widely regarded as one of the most knowledgeable experts in the fields of economic, political, and social dynamics. Despite his numerous institutional responsibilities and scheduling demands, Prof. Valori has been able to lead by example without compromising the other "missions" to which he is dedicated in the social and cultural spheres. He also teaches "communications in International Relation" at some of the most prestigious universities in Italy and throughout the world. Giancarlo Elia Valori was recently nominated as President of Sviluppo Lazio S.p.A. as well as President of the Mediterranean Development Bank.