The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the continent's leading institution for infrastructure solutions, signed a series of strategic cooperation agreements with key Italian partners at the AFC-Italy Business Forum in Rome. 

The forum brought together high-level government representatives to strengthen the cooperation between Africa and Italy and to promote the objectives of the Mattei Plan for Africa. Among the key outcomes of the strategic forum were several agreements signed with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), Sace, Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo, and Imagro. These agreements define a framework for enhanced collaboration in the areas of infrastructure financing, export credit support, project preparation, industrial procurement, business matchmaking, and private sector participation in AFC-supported projects across Africa.

Together, the institutions will work to mobilize capital and accelerate investments in key sectors such as energy and renewables, transport and logistics, critical minerals, natural resources, heavy industry, manufacturing, technology infrastructure, and regional trade corridors.

The agreements are build upon an already existing partnership between AFC and Italian institutions. In recent years, CDP has provided AFC with €400 million in financing, including a €250 million loan in 2025, backed by an 80% SACE guarantee. These transactions strengthen institutions' confidence in AFC's ability to implement high-impact infrastructure projects on the continent, with a particular focus on the Lobito Corridor.

"AFC–Italy Business Forum," explains AFC President and CEO Samaila Zubairu , "was created to go beyond dialogue and create concrete avenues for investment and industrial cooperation between Africa and Italy, and the agreements signed today demonstrate this commitment in a tangible way. By combining AFC's project development experience and investment portfolio with Italy's financial, industrial, and technological strengths, we are creating the partnerships needed to mobilize capital, reduce investment risk, and accelerate industrial development in Africa. These collaborations will help transform opportunities into bankable projects, strengthening value chains, creating jobs, and supporting sustainable economic growth on the continent."

Lorenzo Ortona , deputy national coordinator of the Mattei Plan, adds: "The Mattei Plan was conceived to build an equal partnership with African countries, based on concrete projects and shared benefits. Our collaboration with the Africa Finance Corporation fully embodies this spirit: in recent years, AFC has proven itself to be a reliable and competent partner, capable of translating the Plan's ambitions into fundable initiatives and real investments, benefiting both African economies and the Italian system. The signed agreements consolidate a process already underway and strengthen economic ties between Italy and the African continent."

Under the agreement with CDP, AFC, and the Italian Development Finance Institution, opportunities for joint interventions on strategic projects, future financing modalities, project preparation initiatives, and collaborations with African and Italian companies will be explored. The partnership will also support the identification and development of fundable projects in priority sectors, including infrastructure, energy, water, environmental protection, natural resources, agriculture, food security, and manufacturing.

The cooperation framework with SACE, the Italian export credit agency, will focus on the use of guarantees, credit enhancement tools, export support, and risk-sharing mechanisms to attract investment and encourage greater participation by Italian companies in African infrastructure and industrial projects.

AFC has also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo, the organization that supports the internationalization of Italian companies in Africa, the Middle East, and Turkey. The agreement will strengthen interaction between African project promoters and Italian companies through business missions, investment promotion activities, matchmaking initiatives, conferences, and knowledge-sharing platforms, aimed at increasing private sector participation in AFC projects.

"The collaboration with Africa Finance Corporation represents an opportunity to support a stronger and more effective Italian presence in Africa - emphasizes Enrico Maria Bagnasco, president of Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo - The recently signed Memorandum of Understanding is an important step in this direction. It provides a more structured basis for cooperation and helps strengthen the ties between AFC and Italian industry".