With 147 B2B meetings among over 140 participants belonging to 130 stakeholders from Italy and targeted developing countries, UNIDO ITPO Italy’s “Investment and Matchmaking Forum on Energy and Environment” was successfully held from 17 to 19 March 2021. Organized in collaboration with the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Peru, the initiative promoted by the Italian Trade Agency, KenInvest, the Chamber of Commerce of Lima and Kazakh Invest was part of the project “Fostering international partnerships between companies and/or institutions operating in the energy and environment sectors”, funded by the Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition and implemented by UNIDO ITPO Italy.

The Forum - dedicated to renewable energies and environmental technologies, with a focus on solar and wind power, energy efficiency, electrification, water-energy-food nexus, hydropower, water treatment and supply, waste management, biogas, biomass, and more - was specifically designed for Italian companies interested in discovering new investment opportunities and companies from Botswana, Cuba, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kenya and Peru looking for potential investors in their business sector.

The opening ceremony on March 17 featured the welcome remarks of Ms. Diana Battaggia, Head of UNIDO ITPO Italy, and Mr. Angiolo Martinelli, Director of Division III-International environmental cooperation - CRESS at the Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition. The ceremony continued with the insightful interventions of relevant experts in the field of environmental technologies (Mr. Roberto Lupo, Founder and General Director of Deltacque; Ms. Ketsile Orapeleng, Director at Cleanico Waste Management Solutions; and Ms. Marianna Mazzariello, Architect at Airmec), renewable energies (Mr. Asegid Adane Mebratu, Programme Officer at UNIDO Ethiopia; Mr. Angelantonio Massaro, Technical Engineer at Idnamic; Ms. Aliya Salimzhuarova, Project Manager RES at Kazakh Invest; Mr. Taddese Ayele, CEO of RET Energy Engineering; Ms. Charity Wanjiku, COO at Strauss Energy; and Ms. Bárbara Hernández Martínez, Director of Power Generation at Azcuba) and investment incentives (Mr. Andrea Pavia, Commercial Manager at the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Peru, and Ms. Mónica Mireles Torres, Project Associate at UNIDO Cuba). 

Thanks to a dedicated Marketplace – showcasing innovative technologies through the upload of photos, videos and further company material – and scheduled online B2B sessions, the online platform offered the possibility to engage and discuss together opportunities for business with other participants.

The Forum paved the way for the realization of an online platform for matchmaking activities among companies from Italy and targeted developing countries, and UNIDO ITPO Italy is now extending this opportunity: until 31 May 2021, companies will have the possibility to register to and access the matchmaking platform - which will be updated on a daily basis - in order to showcase their products and services at dedicated virtual booths in the Marketplace section, meet new international stakeholders and organize online B2B meetings to discover new business opportunities.

Visit the online platform of the event to register and upload your photos and videos, schedule new B2B meetings, discover more and also watch the recordings of the interventions at the Forum.