Italy and AFC Launch New Investment Platform for African Growth Projects

From Mattei Plan rhetoric to bankable African projects

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) On 17 June 2026 in Rome, during the AFC–Italy Business Forum, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) signed a series of strategic cooperation agreements with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), SACE, Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo and IMAGRO S.p.A. According to AFC, the agreements “will deepen Africa–Italy cooperation under the Mattei Plan for Africa” and support project preparation, financing and risk-sharing across infrastructure, energy, critical minerals, industrial development and trade corridors.

The forum brought together senior Italian government and Treasury officials, development finance institutions, corporates and project sponsors. Italian and AFC communications describe the cooperation as supporting Italy’s Mattei Plan for Africa by promoting investment, industrial partnerships and infrastructure development, but they do not characterise a formal shift from an aid-based to a purely industrial-partner model. AFC’s President and CEO, Samaila Zubairu, framed the agreements as a move “beyond dialogue” towards practical investment pathways. The approach combines AFC’s project development expertise with Italy’s financial and industrial strengths.

For investors, the core of this AFC Italy cooperation is risk architecture. AFC offers a curated African project pipeline, in-house project preparation and risk-mitigation tools. Italy brings CDP’s development finance capacity, SACE‘s export credit cover and the industrial reach of Confindustria’s network alongside IMAGRO’s role in procurement and project sourcing. Together, they aim to convert Africa’s infrastructure and resource opportunities into bankable assets. Those assets can accommodate both concessional and commercial capital.

The relationship is not new, but it is deepening. CDP has previously provided financing to Africa Finance Corporation, including at least a €100 million credit line, and SACE has supported AFC-related transactions, but there is no public evidence for facilities totalling exactly €400 million or for a €250 million loan in 2025 backed by an 80% SACE guarantee. Under the new cooperation framework, the Lobito Corridor is identified as one of the strategic trade and logistics corridors that AFC and Italian partners intend to prioritise for future investment, but previous CDP and SACE facilities to AFC are not publicly documented as having focused specifically on the Lobito Corridor.

Scaling energy transition, critical minerals and trade corridors

The new cooperation frameworks target a broad slate of sectors: power and renewable energy, transport and logistics, critical minerals, natural resources, heavy industry, manufacturing, technology-enabled infrastructure and regional trade corridors. In practice, this positions Italian and global investors to enter African deals where value chains can be traced from mine or plant to European industrial off-takers.

The emphasis on the Lobito Corridor is especially relevant for energy transition and supply chain resilience. As Europe seeks to diversify critical mineral inputs, AFC-backed corridor infrastructure paired with Italian financing and offtake potential can anchor long-term contracts. It also reduces perceived sovereign and project risk. This should appeal to institutional investors seeking exposure to the upstream and midstream of transition metals without assuming pure exploration risk.

The role of SACE is central in crowding in private capital. Export credit guarantees can lengthen tenors and compress spreads for project finance structures that would otherwise struggle to clear internal risk thresholds. Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo and IMAGRO are positioned to match Italian manufacturers, EPCs and technology firms with AFC-supported projects. This creates integrated industrial supply chains rather than one-off contracts.

Italian officials have described the Mattei Plan for Africa as a framework for mutually beneficial cooperation anchored in concrete projects and investment, but the specific phrase “equal partnership” should be treated as an interpretive characterisation rather than a direct quotation unless a precise sourced statement is provided.

They underline that these agreements are designed to support both African economies and Italy’s industrial system. That framing matters for investors. It signals political backing in Rome for long-dated African exposure, with an explicit focus on employment, value addition and trade flows on both sides of the Mediterranean.

As this AFC Italy cooperation framework starts to translate into specific transactions, investors should watch for the first wave of co-financed deals in power, logistics and critical minerals corridors. Those deals will test pricing, risk-sharing structures and the depth of Italian corporate participation. If those early projects close on time and on terms acceptable to private capital, the model could scale into a repeatable platform for large-ticket, commercially viable investments across Africa’s industrial build-out.

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