ENERGY IN SUPPORT OF YOUNG ENTERPRISES The Hera Group supports the development of new businesses in the area with an offer of electricity, gas, environment and telephony / internet at advantageous conditions for young businesses under 35 The economic and consumption crisis continues to have a negative impact on the Italian production system, but despite the difficulties, the desire to create new young companies strongly emerges: according to data from the Startup Observatory, in 2014 innovative startups grew well by 120%. Unioncamere data tell us that from 2010 to 2013 the North East was the area that suffered the most, however it is precisely from these territories that a positive signal arrives this year: in fact, 57% of startups are located in the North. innovative projects created in 2014. It is in a context like this that Hera Start Up is born and is inserted, a concrete aid studied by the Hera Group (in collaboration with Aster, the consortium company for innovation in the Emilia Romagna region) whichoffers new young entrepreneurs the opportunity to take advantage of a series of essential services (gas, electricity, environment and telephony / internet) at extremely convenient conditions. An ad hoc tool developed by Herambiente, Hera Comm, Amga Energia e Servizi, Acantho to help local businesses in the start-up phase of their business, looking at start-ups as an opportunity for young people to take on new challenges of success. The decision to propose this opportunity to the settlement areas (Emilia Romagna and Friuli Venezia Giulia) stems from the awareness of the primary importance that start-ups play today in the labor market and the economy, especially in the context of the crisis we are experiencing and the role that a multi-utility such as the Hera Group can offer to make a territory more competitive and attractive. "In the Hera Group's vision, a local utility represents a central element in the development of tangible and intangible infrastructures that make the territory increasingly competitive and sustainable" - explains Stefano Venier, Group Chief Executive Officer. "Our proposal goes exactly in this direction and I believe it can represent a concrete contribution to helping young people to embark on a new entrepreneurial path, which the country is in great need of, as well as the territory of Emilia-Romagna and Friuli Venezia Giulia".