Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) has signed five new Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the leading multilateral development banks in Africa: Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Banque Ouest Africaine de Developpement (BOAD), Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group), and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). The objective is to contribute to the creation of opportunities for connection and exchange between Italian and African businesses, to identify possible co-financing opportunities, and to experiment with innovative financial instruments to generate broader and lasting impacts in African countries.
These agreements, signed within the framework of the Italy-Africa Business Dialogue Forum organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in collaboration with Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo and with the support of the ICE Agency, strengthen the relationship between CDP and some of the most important financial development institutions on the African continent, with a specific focus on the private sector. Through these agreements, the parties will commit to facilitating exchanges between Italian and African companies in strategic sectors such as energy, manufacturing, mobility, and agri-food, also encouraging the participation of the Italian production chain in international tenders and direct negotiations for the supply of goods and services.
The MoUs also foresee enhanced collaboration on the topic of innovative finance, aiming to experiment with new tools and solutions to support local development initiatives, particularly promoting Africa’s ecological and digital transition.
Among the objectives is to create a common space for dialogue to identify and support projects that can lead to co-financing operations between Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and partner institutions.
The intensification of relations with the five African multilateral development banks aims to strengthen Italy's cooperation with African states, in line with the Mattei Plan for Africa, which encourages integrated development initiatives aimed at improving the living conditions of local populations. This collaboration builds on the partnerships that CDP has initiated with African financial development institutions since 2022, mobilizing total resources of over 630 million euros for sustainable development projects in Africa in the areas of renewable energies, energy efficiency, agri-food chains, and social infrastructure such as schools and hospitals.