Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) was at this year's edition of the Finance in Common Summit (FICS), an annual event for the more than 500 Public Development Banks (PDBs) and participating financial institutions from around the world that was held in Cape Town, South Africa, with a delegation led by CEO Dario Scannapieco.
A variety of topics were discussed at length, coinciding with the working days of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors: from climate finance to investments in partner countries of international cooperation, with a particular focus on the African continent, to collaboration in tackling major global challenges such as environmental protection and food security.
CDP CEO Dario Scannapieco spoke at a number of crucial events: the 2025 Summit of the D20 Long-Term Investors Club (D20-LTIC), an association that brings together the G20's leading financial institutions and for which CDP holds the position of Secretary General, which launched a Strategic Review to define priorities, operational tools and partnerships useful for strengthening the Club's role as a G20 knowledge and implementing partner; the G20 Infrastructure Investors Dialogue, co-organised by D20-LTIC, the South African G20 Presidency and the OECD to promote a more robust mobilisation of public and private capital for sustainable infrastructure investment; and the FICS Summit, one of the highlights of the two-day event, to stimulate discussion on more coordinated and effective international finance and to bring attention back to the role of National Promotion Institutions (NPIs) in supporting the global economy.
In addition, the CDP Group Delegation also took part in several topical discussions.
CDP's Director for Development Cooperation, Paolo Lombardo, spoke at a session on climate finance, emphasising the importance of exploring innovative financial models to manage risks in climate adaptation investments. Paolo Lombardo also participated in the debate focusing on national Deposit Banks as an effective model for mobilising private savings towards long-term sustainable development projects.
On the topic of food security, CDP participated in the discussion on the recent "Agreement on Sustainable Food Systems", an initiative promoted by CDP in partnership with the development finance institutions of the G7 countries to support food security and sustainable agriculture projects in emerging economies. CDP also participated in debates on the topics of equitable energy transition, balancing climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives with social impact objectives, and sustainable infrastructure.
Supporting the sustainable development of emerging economies – and Africa in particular – was another key theme throughout the event. In this context, the representatives of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti underscored CDP's role as manager of the Italian Climate Fund, an Italian government instrument designed to support climate finance projects in developing countries and emerging markets, with an endowment of €4.2 billion, at least 70% of which is earmarked for the African continent.
Finally, taking advantage of the participation of important civil society organisations and networks at the FICS, in cooperation with the FICS Secretariat CDP organised a closed-door meeting with relevant civil society stakeholders to talk about development finance issues.