SACE and Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo (Assafrica) announce the signing of a collaboration agreement for foster the development of Italian companies in Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The agreement was signed by Raoul Ascari, Chief Global Development Officer of SACE and Pier Luigi d'Agata, General Manager of Assafrica.
As part of the agreement, companies associated with Assafrica will benefit from privileged access to the Frontier Markets program, through which SACE, in addition to providing strategic information on outlet markets, supports SMEs in identifying, negotiating and concluding commercial transactions, also with a view to promoting the integration of companies in supply chain projects.
The Association also undertakes to enhance and disseminate knowledge of the opportunities deriving from the use of consultancy services and SACE insurance-financial instruments in favor of internationalization.
The portfolio of Italian export operations and investments insured by SACE in sub-Saharan Africa exceeds one billion euros, up 63% from a year ago. A significant increase, which reflects the growing attention paid to the region in recent years: SACE has its own office in Johannesburg and a desk in Nairobi in the African Trade Insurance Agency, of which it has been a shareholder since 2009.
The Middle East and North Africa area is also the subject of renewed interest from SACE, which, to support Italian companies that continue to find the southern shore of the Mediterranean a privileged destination for their business, has recently set up a dedicated Desk and it is close to opening an office in Dubai.
