Cassa Depositi e Prestiti has launched "Archipelagos", a platform dedicated to supporting African companies which will make 150 million euros available to the best SMEs on the continent. The project, which will be implemented together with the African Development Bank (AfDB), falls within the scope of the European Commission's External Investment Plan and aims to implement the conditions for the development of African companies with growth potential and to favor the interconnection with the Italian and European market.
From a practical point of view, Cdp and AfDB will deal with the development of innovative financial instruments that will be made available to companies that join the Archipelagos platform, also thanks to the activation of 30 million guarantees granted by the European Commission as part of the Plan for External Investments. These resources will make it possible to mobilize 150 million public and private investments in 11 African countries in support of over 1.500 local SMEs, contributing to the creation of 50 new jobs.
The program will be divided into two phases: in the first the participating companies will be selected, in the second the latter will be able to access innovative sources of financing such as the Basket bonds, recently launched in Italy by Cdp.
For Cdp, specifies the company "this is the first ever guarantee obtained with direct access to the resources of the European Union budget".
For Antonella Baldino, Cdp Chief International Development Finance Officer, Archipelagos will "represent a valuable tool for charting the course towards achieving the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda, supporting partner companies in ambitious growth paths towards new horizons of sustainability, innovation and competitiveness".
