Cassa Depositi e Prestiti

Administers Italian national development finance, supporting infrastructure, public institutions, local development, and businesses through loans and guarantees.

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, or CDP, is Italy's national promotional institution and development bank. Founded in 1850 and reorganised as a joint-stock company in 2003, it is majority-controlled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and channels postal savings into development finance for public administration, infrastructure, local development, and Italian businesses.

Its main tools are direct loans, guarantees, structured finance, bond subscriptions, advisory services, and equity investments through its group companies. The grant-only activity sits in Fondazione CDP, which invites third-sector entities, NGOs, non-profit organisations, social cooperatives, and social promotion associations into work on education, art and culture, and welfare and scientific research. Current calls in that foundation include Valore per il Territorio, with awards up to €150,000, and Ecosistemi culturali al Sud Italia, with awards from €150,000 to €350,000.

That split is the key to reading CDP correctly: the core institution operates as a development bank, while the philanthropic arm handles the non-repayable calls. The result is a finance platform that can support public bodies, infrastructure, and companies through balance-sheet capital, but still opens a separate route for community and university projects where Fondazione CDP is the real public-facing grantmaker.