Every international trade fair, from Nuremberg to Dubai, hosts the exact same scene, repeated endlessly: a carefully designed booth, an Italian SME owner proud of their product, dozens of business cards collected with enthusiasm over the three days of the event — and then, three months later, a drawer full of those business cards, never contacted again, because in the meantime the company has gone back to the day-to-day management of the domestic market and no one, quite simply, had the time (or the specific skills) to turn those contacts into real orders. It is one of the most recurring, and most expensive, scenes of failed internationalization for Italian SMEs: almost never a product problem, but an execution problem — the very same dynamic we have already described, in a different context, in our articles dedicated to the temporary COO and the temporary sales manager.
This article addresses a specific and very common scenario among Italian manufacturing SMEs: how to approach a foreign market without necessarily having to hire, on a permanent basis and at full cost, a permanent export manager before even knowing whether that specific market is really worth the investment — and how to do it, in Italy, by benefiting from one of the most generous and least-known subsidized finance tools for small-to-mid-sized SMEs.
Why internationalization almost always fails on execution, not on product
Italy’s production base, in many sectors, does not have a product competitiveness problem: if anything, it has a structural problem in turning that competitiveness into an organized commercial presence in foreign markets. According to some industry analyses, less than 10% of Italian SMEs manage to structure a truly effective internationalization path, not due to a lack of production quality, but due to a lack of resources — especially managerial — dedicated specifically to that delicate initial investment phase, made up of market analysis, selection of the right distribution channels, and constant coverage of the first commercial contacts, which internal SME management rarely has the time or specific expertise to handle consistently, in addition to the ordinary management of the domestic market.
The macroeconomic context, moreover, makes the topic more urgent than ever: Italian exports closed 2025 with a total value of 643 billion euros, up 3.3% compared to the previous year, with a trade surplus that exceeded 50 billion euros driven in particular by pharmaceuticals, metals, and agri-food, while the Government has set the goal of reaching 700 billion euros of exports by 2027 — a goal that, to be realistic, requires that a growing number of Italian SMEs finally manage to build internationalization paths more solid than the drawer full of business cards never contacted again.
The point no one checks in time An SME that attends international trade fairs without a structured commercial follow-up plan is not doing internationalization: it is doing image marketing, with a real cost (booth, travel, materials) that rarely translates into a proportional commercial return, precisely because there is no one who, in the following months, systematically turns the collected contacts into concrete negotiations. |
What a Temporary Export Manager actually does
The Temporary Export Manager (TEM) is a specialized managerial figure, brought into the company for a defined period — typically between six and twelve months — with the specific mandate to develop the strategy and the first concrete operations for entering one or more target foreign markets. Unlike a generalist temporary sales manager, whose intervention focuses on the existing sales network in the domestic market, the TEM brings specific and often non-replicable skills within the company: direct knowledge of the target market (local regulations, purchasing habits, established distribution channels), a network of contacts already built in that country, and hands-on experience in the technical aspects of internationalization — from customs and regulatory compliance, to selecting local distributors or agents, all the way to the contractual structure best suited to the specific market.
A TEM’s mandate is typically structured around a few recurring phases: a readiness analysis of the company with respect to the target market (product, price, production capacity, regulatory compliance required by the destination country), defining the most suitable entry channel (direct sales, local agent, distributor, cross-border e-commerce), selecting and conducting the first negotiations with the commercial partners identified locally, and launching a commercial pilot with measurable sales targets within the duration of the assignment.
Why “temporary” is almost always the most rational choice for foreign expansion
Investing in a permanent export role before even knowing whether a given market is truly worth the investment is one of the most expensive mistakes an SME can make in this area. A foreign market may prove, after careful on-the-ground analysis, less promising than it looked on paper — due to underestimated regulatory barriers, tougher-than-expected local competition, or simply a less immediate product fit than anticipated. A temporary assignment, with a validation mandate clear from the start, makes it possible to test the real potential of a specific market before a long-term structural commitment, and — just as importantly — makes it possible to tap into market-specific capabilities (language, local commercial culture, contact network) that would be extremely difficult, and costly, to replicate internally for a single destination market.
The tax advantage: SIMEST and Fund 394
There is, for Italian SMEs that want to structure an internationalization path, one of the most generous and, at the same time, least-known subsidized finance tools for small-to-mid-sized companies: Fund 394, managed by SIMEST, the company of the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Group active since 1991 precisely to support the international competitiveness of Italian companies. The mechanism provides a subsidized-rate loan equal to 10% of the European Union reference rate — a rate that, in April 2026, translates into a fixed annual cost of debt of 0.319% — with the possibility, for certain categories of companies (innovative SMEs, youth- or women-led companies, companies with an operating site in Southern Italy, or that meet certain sustainability requirements), to also obtain a non-repayable grant of up to 10–20% of the financed amount, within a cap generally set at 100,000 euros.
| SIMEST line | What it finances | Indicative terms |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary Manager | Temporary placement of a specialized managerial figure to support internationalization | Subsidized rate 0.319% (10% of the EU reference rate), de minimis regime |
| Entry into foreign markets | Opening commercial structures abroad, representative offices, showrooms | Subsidized-rate financing + possible non-repayable grant up to 10% |
| International e-commerce | Creation or strengthening of digital platforms for online sales in foreign markets | Same subsidized terms as Fund 394 |
| Trade fairs and events | Participation in international trade fairs | Dedicated subsidized-rate financing |
Among the six intervention lines of Fund 394, one is explicitly dedicated to the temporary placement of specialized managerial figures — precisely the case of the Temporary Export Manager — in support of technological, digital, or ecological innovation projects linked to the company’s internationalization. The financing operates under the “de minimis” regime, with an overall cap that as of 1 January 2024 has been set at 300,000 euros per company: a technical detail worth knowing in advance, because the higher the interest-rate subsidy obtained, the greater the absorption of the de minimis ceiling overall available to the company for other subsidized measures.
A generous tool, but to be checked case by case The specific terms of SIMEST measures (rates, non-repayable grant percentages, caps) are subject to periodic updates through operational circulars, and some lines provide strengthened conditions for specific categories of companies or target markets (for example, dedicated strengthened measures for the US market or for the Western Balkans). Before submitting an application, it is always necessary to check the most up-to-date operational circular directly on the SIMEST portal. |
How to start: the first steps of a Temporary Export Manager in the company
The export readiness analysis
Before choosing a target market, an effective TEM concretely checks whether the company is truly ready to face it: available production capacity for additional volumes, product compliance with the technical regulations of the destination country (certifications, labeling, safety standards), and the project’s financial sustainability — an aspect on which, as discussed in our article dedicated to corporate cash flow, careful planning is essential, because expansion into a new market almost always generates an additional working-capital need before sales turn into actual cash collections.
Choosing the entry channel
Direct sales, local agent, exclusive or non-exclusive distributor, marketplace, or cross-border e-commerce: each channel entails a very different risk profile, initial investment, and speed of market entry, and the choice must be made based on the specific characteristics of the target market, not out of habit or by uncritically replicating the model used in the domestic market.
Selecting and negotiating with local partners
A TEM with direct experience in the target market brings along a network of contacts — distributors, agents, potential key customers — that a company facing that market for the first time, on its own, would have no way to build with the same speed, significantly reducing the time typically needed to identify and validate reliable commercial partners.
The commercial pilot with measurable objectives
As already discussed in our article dedicated to how the work of a temporary manager is measured, an internationalization assignment too must be built from the outset with explicit and verifiable objectives: a minimum number of qualified contacts developed, a volume of pilot orders generated by the end of the assignment, an expected contribution margin on the first sales in the target market — not simply “open market X,” an objective too vague to be assessed honestly at the end of the path.
The classic mistakes in the internationalization of Italian SMEs
1. Choosing the target market by instinct, without a structured analysis
Many SMEs choose the first foreign market to tackle based on a random contact at a trade fair, or on an unsolicited request received by email, without a real comparative analysis among different potential markets that assesses demand size, entry barriers, local competition, and product affinity.
2. Investing in a permanent structure before validating the market
Hiring a permanent export manager, or opening a stable commercial branch, before concretely validating the market’s potential with a structured commercial pilot, exposes the company to an often avoidable economic risk.
3. Not planning the need for additional working capital
As with any growth phase, entering a new market almost always requires advancing more cash into inventory and trade receivables before sales turn into actual collections, a need that too many SMEs do not explicitly plan for before starting the expansion.
4. Not systematically following up on contacts collected at international trade fairs and events
It is the mistake described at the beginning of this article, and it remains one of the most widespread and most expensive: attending international events without a structured commercial follow-up process in the following months nullifies much of the investment made to take part.
5. Not checking available incentives before structuring the operation
Many SMEs start an internationalization path without ever checking whether the project meets the access requirements for Fund 394 managed by SIMEST, missing an opportunity for financing on terms far more favorable than those obtainable on the ordinary banking market.
The practical plan: how to evaluate a Temporary Export Manager assignment
1. Verify your company’s real readiness before choosing a target market. Production capacity, product regulatory compliance, project financial sustainability: without these three elements, any market choice remains a gamble.
2. Give the TEM a mandate with measurable objectives within the duration of the assignment. Qualified contacts developed, pilot orders generated, expected margin on the first sales: verifiable numbers, not a generic “open the market.”
3. Check the access requirements for Fund 394 managed by SIMEST before structuring the operation. A subsidized rate at 0.319% and a possible non-repayable grant can significantly reduce the cost of the entire internationalization project.
4. Plan in advance the additional working-capital need generated by the new market. International expansion, like any growth phase, almost always requires advancing cash before collecting results.
5. Set up from the start a systematic follow-up process for every contact collected at international trade fairs and events. Without this process, a large part of the investment in international presence remains without real commercial return.
GIR’s advice: foreign markets are won with a plan, not with a trade fair
Gruppo Italia Retail supports Italian SMEs in placing Temporary Export Managers to validate and launch entry into new foreign markets: from export readiness analysis, to choosing the most suitable entry channel, all the way to selecting local commercial partners and checking the access requirements for Fund 394 managed by SIMEST to finance the operation on particularly favorable terms. With Tradigma we make available to Italian SMEs the same subsidized-finance structure and the same execution capability already described in our articles dedicated to temporary management, applied specifically to the challenge of internationalization.
“New solutions, old values” means, also in this case, something very concrete: helping an entrepreneur turn an excellent Italian product into a real commercial presence in foreign markets, without having to bet from the outset on a permanent commitment before knowing for sure whether that market is truly worth the investment. If you have a drawer full of business cards collected at the latest international trade fairs and never contacted again, now is the right time to start turning them into something more concrete.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What is a Temporary Export Manager and how does it differ from a generalist temporary sales manager?
A. It is a specialized managerial figure, brought into the company for a period typically between six and twelve months, with specific skills in the target foreign market (local regulations, distribution channels, an already-built contact network), unlike a generalist temporary sales manager who focuses on the existing sales network in the domestic market.
Q. Why is it better to approach a new foreign market with a temporary assignment instead of immediately hiring a permanent export manager?
A. Because it allows you to concretely validate the market’s potential with a structured commercial pilot before a long-term economic commitment, and to access market-specific skills that are difficult and costly to replicate internally for a single destination market.
Q. What is SIMEST Fund 394 and how can it finance an internationalization project?
A. It is Italy’s main public instrument for exporting companies, managed by SIMEST (Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Group), which provides subsidized-rate financing equal to 10% of the EU reference rate (0.319% fixed per year in April 2026), with the possibility of a non-repayable grant of up to 10–20% of the financed amount for certain categories of companies, including a line specifically dedicated to placing temporary managers for internationalization.
Q. What is the de minimis cap applicable to SIMEST financing?
A. As of 1 January 2024 the overall de minimis cap is set at 300,000 euros per company: an important figure to consider because the greater the interest-rate subsidy obtained, the greater the absorption of this ceiling also available for other subsidized measures.
Q. What are the most common mistakes Italian SMEs make when tackling a foreign market?
A. Choosing the target market by instinct without a structured analysis, investing in a permanent structure before validating the market, not planning the need for additional working capital, and not systematically following up on contacts collected at international trade fairs and events
Q. How do you measure the results of a Temporary Export Manager assignment?
A. Through objectives defined from the start of the assignment, such as the number of qualified contacts developed, the volume of pilot orders generated, and the expected contribution margin on the first sales in the target market, following the same measurement logic by output, outcome, and capability already discussed in our article dedicated to how a temporary manager is evaluated.
Q. How can GIR concretely help an SME structure an internationalization path?
A. GIR supports the entrepreneur in placing a Temporary Export Manager, from export readiness analysis to choosing the entry channel, all the way to selecting local partners and checking the access requirements for Fund 394 managed by SIMEST to finance the operation on subsidized terms.
