Funding for start-ups in Ticino: the proposal

Context

TL;DR

• Tresoldi proposes studying support for start-ups in Ticino.
• Without initial capital, even a good project may remain on paper.
• The selection should examine the market and financial sustainability.
• Capital, labor, and tax revenue form a single chain.

Key facts

• Author → Christian Tresoldi
• Role City → Councillor of the city of Lugano
• Proposal for a → tool for start-ups and new businesses in Ticino
• → Business plan, market, sustainability, skills and growth evaluation
• Obstacle → Lack of home, land or assets to offer as a guarantee
• Mechanism → Capital, enterprise, jobs, income, consumption, investments and tax revenue

The proposal starts from Lugano

Christian Tresoldi, municipal councillor of the city of Lugano and patrician of Castagnola, asks a concrete question: how can a new company be born if access to capital is lacking? The reasoning starts from the relationship between bank and territory, which for decades, according to the author, has been one of the central elements of economic development.

In the framework described by Tresoldi, the credit allowed a craftsman to obtain a van and work tools, rent a warehouse and start the business. The banking advisor knew the territory, the families and the people; today, however, the system seems more prudent. This caution should not, however, penalize those who have skills, preparation and a valid project, but not a house, land or significant assets to offer as a guarantee.

Even a young person can have studied, know their sector well and cultivate an idea capable of improving the city, creating a service or bringing innovation. If initial capital is lacking, however, the project may remain on paper. Tresoldi also notes that capital, opportunities and large projects are likely to concentrate around the same names and already consolidated realities. In his opinion, it is not necessarily a question of guilt, but a problem of the system.

For Ticino, Tresoldi proposes to study a specific tool for start-ups and new businesses. It would not mean distributing money without criteria: the evaluation should be entrusted to highly qualified professionals, called upon to examine the business plan, the market, financial sustainability, the promoter's skills and growth prospects.

The final criterion is clear: a valid project must be supported, one that does not hold up economically, no. However, there must be the possibility of being evaluated. The passage indicated by the author connects capital, enterprise, jobs, income, consumption, investments and tax revenue.

Operational details

From credit to project selection

The comparison between the situation described in the past and the current one is not presented as an opposition between generous banks and cautious banks. The point is another one: caution can protect credit assessment, but it can also exclude those who do not have collateral despite having the skills and a well-prepared project. The issue, then, is not the automatic financing of every idea. It is access to an evaluation.

For anyone living or working in Switzerland, this reasoning has a concrete impact on how one envisions starting a business in Ticino. The selection proposed by Tresoldi shifts attention from the mere availability of a house, a plot of land, or substantial assets to the verifiable quality of the project. It does not eliminate risk: it calls for it to be examined using appropriate tools and expertise.

Two economic scenarios

In a similar situation, a promoter with the necessary preparation, knowledge of the sector, and a sustainable business plan could have the opportunity to submit the project for evaluation. If the project holds up, the capital can be used to purchase equipment, rent a warehouse, or start the business. If, on the other hand, it does not hold up economically, the proposal does not provide for supporting it merely because it is new: financial sustainability and growth prospects remain decisive.

The economic chain identified by Tresoldi helps measure what is at stake without turning it into a promise. Capital can make it possible for the business to be established; the business can create jobs; work can generate income, consumption, investment, and tax revenue. If the first step is blocked, the others do not get started. Hence the final question about the difficulty of finding a job in Ticino.

The distribution of opportunities also affects the relationship between established businesses and new entrants. Supporting those who are already strong remains, in the author's view, a task for a healthy economy. That same economy must, however, allow new entrepreneurs to emerge. Those looking at employment opportunities can complement this perspective with a search in annunci di lavoro and among aziende che assumono, without confusing an available job with the capital needed to create a business.

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Key points

Preparing a proposal for evaluation

If the proposed instrument were created, the promoter could organize their presentation according to the criteria outlined by Tresoldi. This would not be a request for money without conditions, but rather a project to be submitted to professionals capable of assessing its viability.

Five steps for the promoter

1. Include the business plan, which is among the elements to be examined. 2. Address the market the business intends to target. 3. Verify the project's financial sustainability. 4. Present the promoter's skills and preparation. 5. Make the company's growth prospects explicit.

This sequence makes it possible to separate the idea from its actual economic capacity. The presence of a new project would not be sufficient, just as the absence of a home, land, or significant assets should not rule out from the outset the possibility of being evaluated. The criterion remains the soundness of the initiative.

The request should also link the capital to the concrete needs of the business. In the case of the artisan mentioned in the intervention, the credit was needed for a van, work tools, the rental of a warehouse, and the launch of the business. These are examples already indicated in the reasoning, not a guarantee of financing.

The next step would be to request a complete evaluation, not assume approval. A valid project can be supported; one that does not hold up economically cannot. The proposed logic brings together selection and access opportunities, avoiding both distribution without criteria and the automatic exclusion of those who do not possess assets to offer as collateral.

The impact on the labor market is measured in the chain indicated by Tresoldi: a business can create jobs and work can generate income. To connect this step to your own income, use calcolatore stipendio.

Source: tio.ch