Italian Chambers of Commerce are key institutional partners for businesses, supporting competitiveness, internationalisation and economic development. As global challenges intensify, strengthening their strategic role at both national and European level will be essential to effectively represent and support Italian enterprises.
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When friends or acquaintances ask me what I do for a living and I reply, “I work for a Chamber of Commerce”, the most common reaction is polite silence, perhaps accompanied by a nod. Over time, I have come to realise - with very few exceptions - that most people do not truly know what lies behind, and above all within, a Chamber of Commerce.
And yet, those same people have almost certainly consulted the Italian Business Register at least once without realising it, or done business with a company whose legal existence is certified through that very digital infrastructure. Established thirty years ago, it now manages the data of 5.8 million companies and 10 million individuals. It is a unique system of legal public registration, with no real equivalent elsewhere in Europe.
Beyond the Business Register, Italian Chambers of Commerce perform a wide range of functions. They manage calls for proposals and financial support schemes for businesses - concrete and accessible resources, often unknown to those who would benefit from them most. They support the internationalisation of SMEs seeking to enter foreign markets but uncertain where to begin. They provide mediation and arbitration services to resolve commercial disputes without recourse to the courts. They promote training, support employability, and certify quality standards. They invest in strategic national infrastructure and, in some cases, directly manage it. In many respects, they represent the most immediate and extensive point of contact between the State and the real economy.
This is the paradox of an institution endowed with an extraordinarily broad range of responsibilities, yet one that still struggles to communicate its role effectively. Being a public institution should not mean being taken for granted; rather, it entails an even greater responsibility towards those who rely upon its services.
The current context does not help, and it would be unrealistic to ignore this. Data presented by Unioncamere during its National Assembly on 29 April depict a productive system under considerable pressure: 70% of Italian businesses are showing signs of concern, while one in two expects turnover to decline by between 5% and 10% in 2026. Energy costs, access to finance, skills shortages, bureaucracy, environmental transition and globalisation all represent pressing challenges, and businesses often lack both the resources and the time to address them independently.
There is also another obstacle, clearly identified by Unioncamere President Andrea Prete: the agility of the Chamber system is constrained by an excessive regulatory framework that absorbs resources which could otherwise be directed more effectively towards enterprises.
The real transformation required is not merely the introduction of another funding scheme or the modernisation of a website. It is about rethinking how institutions listen and respond, fostering a genuine and shared dialogue with the productive system. In this way, Chambers can become true agents of transformation and be perceived not only as providers of services, but above all as authoritative interlocutors whenever economic strategies and development trajectories need to be defined.
We should not forget that the Chamber system is both complex and highly articulated, with offices and participations across Italy, complemented by the Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad coordinated by Assocamerestero. Together, they form an integrated network that enables the Chambers to actively fulfil the constitutional role of intermediary body and subsidiarity actor.
However, for this role to be effective, it must be recognised in terms of both authority and capability.
There is little doubt that the strategic processing and interpretation of data - the Chamber system’s most valuable asset, which will be further strengthened through the use of artificial intelligence - can become one of the key drivers enabling Chambers to act increasingly as institutional interlocutors for governments and public administrations in the design of industrial policy and national development strategies.
Yet this alone will not suffice, neither today nor in the future. The role of Chambers must also be strengthened at European level through informed and proactive advocacy capable of anticipating, as far as possible, those decisions taken in Brussels that subsequently have a significant impact on our businesses.
Only in this way can the Chamber system truly be perceived as a genuine ally of Italy’s productive fabric. In achieving this objective, the role of Unioncamere Europa will be decisive.
Giuseppe Molinari
President of the Modena Chamber of Commerce