The event “Italy Meets Africaica: New Business Opportunities” represented a significant stageicain strengthening the economic and industrial partnership between Italy and the African continenticaNo.
The initiative was born from the synergic collaborationica between Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), SACE, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) e Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterranean, in the context of Mattei's Plan for Africaica.
The initiative's primary goal is to foster lasting collaboration aimed at sustainable, inclusive, and long-term growth.
As Italian Development Financial Institution (DFI), CDP consider the Africa not as a simple recipient of aid, but as a strategic partner and co-creator of value.
CDP's mission is based on two fundamental principles:
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generate an impact economic, social and environmental concrete;
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support theinternationalization of Italian companies, of all sizes.
To achieve these goals, CDP can count on dedicated tools and resourcesicayou, as the management of the Italian Climate Fund, with a total budget of more than 4 billion euros.
Financial support from CDP and SACE
The partnership between CDP, SACE and AFC is based on mutual trust and the awareness that the futures of Italy and Africaica are deeply interconnected.
A concrete example of this collaboration is represented by thefinancing agreement signed in March 2025 between CDP and SACE AFC, under the aegis of the Mattei Plan.
The agreement provides for a €250 million loan facility, guaranteed by SACE, aimed at supporting investments in key sectors of infrastructure and energy.
SACE, with over 50 billion euros of exposure in the African continenticaNo. and a direct presence through three regional offices (Morocco, Egypt and South Africaica), actively collaborates with CDP and the main African financial institutionsicane.
The shared strategy aims to create an ecosystem favorable to industrial and commercial development, strengthening supply chains and promoting synergies between Italian and African companies.icane.
Concrete opportunities for Italian businesses
The event highlighted the extraordinary potential of cooperation between the dynamism of African marketsicani and technological excellenceica and Italian industrialist.
Opportunities for Italian companies extend to several strategic sectors:
• Infrastructure and transport – Large-scale projects, such as the Lobito Railway Corridor (Angola, Zambia, Republicica Democratica of the Congo) and the Keene Metro Station in Kinshasa, will require Italian expertise in civil engineering, energy and signalling technologies.
• Industry and valorization of resources – AFC is involved in initiatives such as the plant Nyanza Titanium Dioxide in South Africaica (the first on the continent) and the plant Black Rose methanol in Nigeria, which transforms flared gas into industrial raw material, reducing emissions and creating local added value.
• Other strategic sectors – Collaboration prospects include agriculture, food security, energy transitionica, digitalization and advanced manufacturing.
In addition, AFC supports large Afr groupsicani like BUA Group e Dangote Group, engaged in major expansion projects in the petrochemical, fertilizer, and sugar sectors – areas that have always seen a strong presence of Italian expertise and supplies.
CDP's Business Matching Platform
To promote the creation of j and facilitate dialogue between companies, CDP has developed the Business Matching Platform, a digital tool dedicatedicato financial consulting and international networking.
The platform, which connects Italian and African companiesicano, has already recorded over 500 B2B meetings, involving more than 4.000 Italian companies e 800 AFR counterpartiesicane.
Its use represents a concrete step towards transform dialogue into real growth opportunities, promoting the creation of long-term industrial and commercial partnerships.
