Agreement signed by CDP, the African Development Bank (AfD) and the counterpart Rabat CDG Invest, during the Africa Investment Forum Market Days 2025, for Rabat CDG Invest to join the Mattei Plan’s Growth and Resilience Platform for Africa.
Italian participation in the Africa Investment Forum Market Days 2025, the main event for investments in Africa, held in Morocco on 26 November, was considerable, confirming Italy’s commitment to promoting growth in Africa and to deploying public and private resources to consolidate international cooperation.
During the session ‘The Mattei Plan: Bridging ambition and action. Partnering with the private sector to foster Africa’s sustainable future’, organised with the support of the Italian Government’s Mission for implementing the Mattei Plan, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and CDG Invest, a Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG) Group company signed an agreement ratifying the Moroccan development bank joining the Growth and Resilience Platform for Africa (GRAf). The session was attended by Pasquale Salzano, Ambassador for Italy in Rabat, with Lorenzo Ortona, Substitute Coordinator of the Mattei Plan Mission, Paolo Lombardo, CDP Director for International Cooperation & Development Finance, Francesca Utili, representing the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Paola Valerio, Head of Institutional and International Affairs of SACE, all taking part.
GRAf is a co-investment platform set up under the Mattei Plan, promoted by CDP and AfDB with the objective of supporting the private sector in Africa by indirect investments, made through investment funds. The platform is aiming to deploy 750 million euro in five years for strategic sectors such as food security, the development of SMEs and sustainable infrastructure. The initiative seeks to create an ecosystem of investors interested in sharing opportunities and expertise, generating concrete impacts on the real economy, by creating jobs and improving products and essential services. CDP, as a Financial Institution for Cooperation & Development, is one of the key players of the Mattei Plan, providing resources and know-how to attract investments and support the international expansion of Italian businesses.
During the session, CDP also highlighted the vital role played by the private sector in promoting sustainable development in Africa and the financial tools made available to support private initiatives, in keeping with the spirit of the Mattei Plan.
During the Africa Investment Forum, the delegation from CDP attended presentations of projects organised by AfDB and numerous bilateral meetings with development banks and partner governments, with the focus on identifying new investment opportunities and consolidating dialogue with the key players of development in Africa.
The Forum was also an opportunity for Cassa Depositi e Prestiti to present its own operations during the second event, ‘Launch of the IDFC Cooperation for Development (C4D) Investment Forum: Moving from Intent to Implementation on Co-Financing’. Organised by the International Development Finance Club (IDFC), this session focussed on the launch of the C4D Investment Forum, a platform promoting cooperation among development banks to encourage co-financing and joint projects. IDFC, of which CDP is a member, brings together 27 institutions committed to the Sustainable Development Goals and to implementing international agreements on the climate and biodiversity, with the objective of consolidating a global financial architecture and accelerating sustainable investments.