In recent years, UNIDO ITPO Italy has enhanced its support to the economic development of Sub-Saharan Africa, an interesting area for the creation of economic partnerships and the promotion of foreign investment. It is also a priority region for Italy, the UN System, and UNIDO itself.

In 2008, the activities carried out by the Office centred on drawing more attention to the continent and multiplying efforts to have Italian companies take advantage of the economic opportunities offered by African markets and resources.

The activities carried forward by UNIDO ITPO Italy aim to attract foreign investment and develop technical and managerial capacities, necessary to start a process of sustainable development having a positive social impact. In particular, the objectives of these activities are to:

·          Improve the investment climate at the economic, legal, and administrative levels;

·          Facilitate access to international financing through the improved targeting  of services offered by financial institutions and by identifying new and more efficient credit and/or soft-loan schemes;

·          Develop local entrepreneurship, attract FDI, and strengthen public-private partnerships; and,

·          Facilitate the transfer of know-how and expertise for capacity-building activities to local institutions involved in the promotion of the economic and productive systems of African countries.

As an example, the intense joint promotional activities of ITPO Italy and the Delegates from Ethiopia,  Senegal, and Tanzania  allowed major Italian business institutions to get acquainted with the new African investment climate and orient the interest of their associated companies to a continent offering huge investment opportunities.

ITPO Italy conducted a process of reflection about  the limited activities of Italian SMEs in Africa, as well as opportunities and constraints perceived by them in their approach to the continent. Given the widely recognized potential of foreign investment for accelerating the continent’s industrial development, existing government programs and instruments intended to favour Italian companies and enhance their capacity to support  industrialization processes in Africa were reviewed. The process involved several actors, such as banks, other financial institutions, investment promotion bodies, and business associations.

Among the issues that emerged in the reflection group, there is the need for more precise and better quality information about business opportunities in Africa, targeting more directly and effectively small and medium-sized Italian companies. Public and private institutions need to have a proactive attitude and a practical approach in selecting and presenting projects to Italian companies. Finally, all possible avenues for encouraging  Italian SMEs to consider Africa were followed and that, as a result,  investing to Africa might not seem so difficult.