The African Development Bank has said that it will match the $150m in concessional loans and grants from Italy, which are meant to finance projects throughout the continent.
This was disclosed in a statement by the AfDB on its website, as the operationalisation of Italy’s Mattei Plan for Africa gets underway.
The Italian government had earlier in the year launched a project that would promote economic growth in Africa, to prevent irregular immigration to Europe.
The plan was announced at the same time as data from Italy’s Interior Ministry showed a 50% increase in migrant arrivals to the country in 2023.
AfDB and Italy have a bilateral agreement that includes a trust fund and co-financing framework for joint project financing.
AfDB stated, “Italy has committed approximately $150m in highly concessional loans and grants and the African Development Bank Group will at least match this amount. The objective is to pursue Italian and African Development Bank Group priorities as set out by the Mattei Plan for Africa and by the Italian Development Cooperation strategy, to foster economic and strategic partnerships with African nations and institutions by building common business opportunities and scaling up investment flows.
“The priority areas are energy, water, agriculture, health, education and training and infrastructure, both physical and digital.”
According to the AfDB, the fund will support African sovereign entities by focusing on high-impact, climate-aligned investments in critical strategic industries.
“Thanks to its multi-donor nature, it will be able to attract other international partners to combine forces and leverage funding. An initial pledge of around $130m in highly concessional loans and grants has been announced by Italy, together with an additional commitment by the United Arab Emirates. The African Development Bank Group has committed to at least match the Fund’s contributions on each project with its resources,” AfDB noted.
The Prime Minister of Italy, Ms Giorgia Meloni, and the President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, met on the sidelines of the G7 Heads of State and Government Summit in Puglia on Saturday.
On the project, Adesina noted, “I applaud Prime Minister Meloni for her launch of the Mattei plan and for selecting the African Development Bank Group as its strategic partner to deliver it for Africa. Our partnership will deliver impactful development impacts across African countries, expand access to energy, tackle climate change, support food security, boost health services, and expand skills and jobs for the youth. This will help create more economic opportunities in Africa and help stem drivers of migration.
In her remarks, Prime Minister Meloni said “Italy’s ‘Piano Mattei’ will foster economic and strategic partnerships with African nations and institutions, and the African Development Bank Group is our main strategic financial partner for its implementation. Our collaboration will sustain the development of initiatives with Africa’s public and private sectors, with additional opportunities for Italian businesses.”
