Africa is the new frontier of global investment. Indeed, the country is emerging as the most dynamic area globally due to specific factors such as:
- the strongest population growth on the planet
- a marked process of urbanization
- the creation of the world’s largest free trade area in terms of the number of countries involved.
This positioning of Africa as the new frontier of internationalization constitutes a unique opportunity for the Italian production system and its supply chains. These, in fact, find themselves increasingly squeezed between European stagnation, American tariffs and China’s economic evolution towards an aggressive government-funded export model.
But there is also the other side of the coin not to be overlooked. Africa, in fact, suffers from many problems that make life difficult for small businesses unless they move in an aggregate or otherwise “assisted” form:
- it is a gigantic continent, divided into 54 countries and with hundreds of languages;
- has dozens of non-convertible currencies;
- transportation, logistics and power availability are still major challenges.
From the Mattei Plan to the two strategic projects on Africa
So Italian SMEs cannot miss such an important opportunity for productive revitalization, but they must move in an organized way. What does this mean? In order to seize the opportunities offered by the African continent as a new frontier of international development, it is necessary to structure a real approach. In other words, it is necessary to
- define a strategy;
- get assistance from specialists;
- use export insurance and co-financing instruments;
- weave stable relationships with Italian national institutions.
To do this, Roncucci&Partners has developed two strategic projects on Africa, the result of the Bologna-based consulting firm’s long experience on the continent:
- The African Exports for New Italian Supply Chains project, focused on the connection to be created between the strengthening of quality imports from Africa by Italian supply chains and the upgrading of African exports needed to revive growth on the Continent;
- The F.O.M. project, which aims to complete the previous one by flanking the operations of Italian lead companies with the involvement of African rural communities through microcredit.
Not forgetting, then, the strengthening of financial offerings through the Mattei Plan. What does the Mattei Plan for Africa provide? It is the investment program launched by the Italian government exactly one year ago that finances all possible operations of Italian companies in Africa with non-repayable, interest-rate, equity and concessional credit. The Mattei Plan is then divided into 20 projects already active in 10 of the 13 priority countries: Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Angola, Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Kenya and Ethiopia.
Final thoughts
Roncucci&Partners, thanks to decades of experience, 2 active offices in Africa, partnerships with national bodies for internationalization, and well-defined and shared project proposals, is the preferred party in accompanying companies to Africa, in the search for local partners, in production and commercial settlement, and in the identification of new suppliers for the lead companies of the Italian Supply Chains.
At Roncucci&Partners we help companies develop themselves and their business, embrace change and evolve to thrive in a world that is increasingly complicated, insidious and requires great expertise. We do this by applying punctual methods and rigorous strategies, the result of many years of experience and the richness of the numerous success stories we have conducted all over the world. Passion and method are indeed our guides to enhance the present and build the future.
