By Francis Ntow
Rabat, Morocco, Dec 5, GNA – The African Development Bank (AfDB) and Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero (SACE), an Italian Export Credit Agency, have signed a US$6 billion agreement to provide credit protection to stimulate investment in Africa.
The signing took place on the sidelines of the 2024 African Investment Forum Market Days, on Thursday, in Rabat, the capital city of Morocco, under the “Mattei Plan.”
Ms Hassatou N’Sele, Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer, AfDB, signed for the Bank, while Mr Michal Ron, Chief International Business Officer, responsible for Overseas Network, signed for SACE.
The implementation of the Mattei Plan is to support the financing of high impact projects in Africa, while jointly generating opportunities for business matching between African and Italian companies.
The focus areas are education and training, agriculture/agro-industry, healthcare, energy, water, infrastructure, including digital economy infrastructure.
Although all AfDB member countries are eligible, initial beneficiary countries include Algeria, the Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, and Tunisia.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr Ron noted that Africa represented a market of great potential for Italian companies, adding that collaboration under the Mattei Plan would strengthen their positioning in key sectors for the continent’s development.
“In particular, we are already identifying new business opportunities where SACE can make a difference thanks to the Push Strategy, a financial instrument that, through guarantees, connects African buyers with Italian SMEs,” he said.
Ms N’Sele stated that “while there is often a perceived risk in investing in the continent, the reality is that Africa offers a wealth of opportunities with actual risk lower than the perception.”
She said AfDB was committed to deepening its partnerships with institutions like SACE to expand financing and de-risking solutions for critical projects across Africa.
“Through collaborations like the Mattei Plan, in partnership with SACE, we aim to unlock these opportunities and ensure that Africa’s vast potential is fully realized,” said, Ms N’Sele.
GNA