Italy-Africa : a new decisive chapter

Since its launch in July 2024, the Mattei Plan has become the cornerstone of Italy’s cooperation strategy with Africa. Spearheaded by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the plan aims to strengthen Italy’s economic, financial, and institutional presence on the continent. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has been identified as the main strategic financial partner to implement this ambitious plan.

On May 8, 2025, a major Italian delegation led by Stefano Gatti, Director General for Development Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Lorenzo Ortona, head of the Mattei Plan Task Force, visited the AfDB headquarters in Abidjan. The delegation included representatives from Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), the Ministry of Finance, as well as from the private sector and civil society.

A public-private partnership to address Africa’s challenges

At the heart of discussions with AfDB leadership, including Senior Vice President Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, was the strengthening of public-private collaboration to fight hunger and boost agriculture in Africa. The AfDB also highlighted the crucial role of its concessional arm, the African Development Fund, in supporting the continent’s most vulnerable countries.

We are very pleased to see that Italy remains strongly committed to the African continent. The Mattei Plan is a model for future cooperation between Africa and developed countries

One of the key instruments of the Mattei Plan is the Rome Process Financing Facility (RPFF), a multi-donor fund with an initial budget exceeding $170 million, mainly from Italy and the United Arab Emirates. This fund aims to finance climate-aligned sovereign infrastructure projects that address the root causes of migration.

Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade praised Italy’s commitment: “We are very pleased to see that Italy remains strongly committed to the African continent, particularly through the African Development Fund. The Mattei Plan is a model for future cooperation between Africa and developed countries.”

An ambitious financing and investment strategy

Beyond the RPFF, the Growth and Resilience for Africa (Graf) platform aims to mobilize up to €400 million over five years into private equity funds, with the goal of accelerating the development of Africa’s private sector. CDP and the AfDB are closely collaborating in this framework, a partnership welcomed by Lorenzo Ortona:

We need partners like the AfDB to enhance the visibility and effectiveness of the Mattei Plan in Africa

Italy has also pledged €298.88 million for the sixteenth replenishment of the African Development Fund. This funding also supports initiatives such as Mission 300, which promotes youth entrepreneurship and strengthens private sector engagement.

Outlook and challenges of sustainable cooperation

This strengthened partnership between Italy and Africa comes in a global context where South-North cooperation must adapt to the challenges of climate change, migration, and economic transformation. The Mattei Plan, based on a multilateral approach, relies on complementarity between bilateral resources and the leverage effect of multilateral banks to maximize project impact.

According to Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade:“There is a leveraging effect that multilateral development banks have that is sometimes inaccessible to bilateral resources. It is therefore essential to take advantage of this to achieve sustainable results.” With targeted investments in infrastructure, agriculture, renewable energy, and the private sector, Italy and the AfDB aim not only to foster inclusive growth in Africa, but also to strengthen the continent’s economic and social stability, a key driver of peace and prosperity for the future.