The partnership between Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC, part of the World Bank Group) continues to grow stronger.
On Tuesday, 15 July, CDP’s headquarters on Via Goito hosted the event “Unlocking Private Sector Investment in Frontier and Emerging Markets: a High-level Roundtable with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and International Finance Corporation”, aimed at further expanding the existing relationship and promoting new international cooperation projects, with a stronger role for the Italian private sector.
The roundtable stemmed from a strategic meeting between CDP’s Chief Executive Officer, Dario Scannapieco, and IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop, which also took place at the Via Goito headquarters on 10 April. That meeting confirmed the shared intent to strengthen the partnership between IFC and Italian businesses.
Promoted by IFC and opened with remarks from CEO Scannapieco, the event saw the participation of other key executives of the CDP Group, including: Francesco Mele, Chief Executive Officer of CDP Equity, Paolo Lombardo, Director of International Cooperation & Development Finance, and Enrico Petrocelli, Head of International Institutional Relations. IFC was represented by Alfonso Garcia Mora, Regional Vice President for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Ines Rocha, Division Director for Europe. Stefania Lenoci, Special Representative for Southern Europe, the Vatican and UN agencies based in Rome, attended on behalf of the World Bank.
Also present at the event were senior representatives from some of the main companies in which the CDP Group holds an interest: Eni, Fincantieri, SIMEST, Snam, Terna, Trevi and Webuild, all companies with extensive expertise and a strategic interest in emerging and developing markets.
While these markets face challenges such as conflict, climate change and macroeconomic instability, they also offer significant untapped opportunities in strategic sectors such as infrastructure, energy transition, agribusiness, digital connectivity and resilient value chains.
Examples of collaboration between the two institutions in recent years have included joint financing initiatives in the agriculture sector in Kenya and the banking sector in Vietnam, with a focus on SME growth. CDP has also invested in funds promoted by the International Finance Corporation and co-invested alongside IFC in private equity funds aimed at supporting sustainable private sector development in emerging areas.
In a sign of IFC’s intention to strengthen its ties with Italian institutions and businesses, a new office was recently opened at the World Bank headquarters in Rome.