Italy has taken a positive step forward in its geopolitical and economic strategy by unveiling the ambitious €5.5 billion Mattei Plan. This initiative aims to enhance and strengthen the country’s developmental and economic partnerships with Africa, fostering collaboration and mutual growth.
With projects spanning Angola, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique and North Africa, the plan is poised to redefine Europe’s engagement with the continent on paper, at least as one of equal partnership rather than postcolonial paternalism.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking at a high-level summit co-hosted with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, described the initiative not as a top-down imposition but “concrete projects resulting from dialogue and the desire to create lasting development together with our African partners.”
But beyond diplomatic niceties, the Mattei Plan is a geopolitical and economic strategy of notable depth one that could open real doors for African entrepreneurs, if local leadership and innovation are treated not as accessories but as core drivers of development.
A New Chapter, or a Familiar Script?
At the heart of the plan is an initial €1.2 billion commitment part of a broader alignment with the EU’s €150 billion Global Gateway initiative. On the table: expanded health services in Côte d’Ivoire, investments in higher education and environmental systems in Ethiopia, and critical water infrastructure in the DRC. These are not mere token gestures. These are sectors with potential to be catalytic engines for a new era of African-led entrepreneurship if local talent and startups are empowered.
Also notable is the inclusion of high-tech infrastructure: a European Union–backed expansion of the Blue-Raman subsea internet cable to East Africa, developed by Google and Italy’s Sparkle, alongside the creation of an Italy-led AI Hub for Sustainable Development. Backed by Microsoft and the EU, the hub pledges to equip African startups with training and access to emerging technologies.
This is where the stakes rise: Will these interventions truly equip African tech entrepreneurs to build scalable, continent-born solutions or will the next generation of innovation again be imported and imposed?
Africa’s Entrepreneurs: Ready, But Waiting
“Africa has created 100 million new jobs in the past decade. Many more are coming,” von der Leyen said, underscoring a demographic dividend the continent can no longer afford to squander.
She’s right but job creation must not be mistaken for job ownership. Africa’s entrepreneurs, especially its youth, are hungry not for handouts but for fair partnerships: financing instruments that don’t suffocate innovation, access to regional markets without political interference and policies that enable them to compete globally.
The Mattei Plan’s support for the Lobito Corridor a megaproject connecting the port of Lobito in Angola with the mineral-rich DRC and Zambia is a litmus test. Framed as a US-EU-African strategic response to Chinese dominance in infrastructure, the corridor also promises to spark investment zones for agribusiness, energy, and digital technologies.
But will local African businesses own the farms, the solar parks, the data hubs? Or will they once again serve global supply chains from the margins?
A Mirror of Mutual Interests?
Italy’s energy dependency is no secret. Named after Enrico Mattei, the visionary founder of ENI who championed equitable energy partnerships with African states in the post-war era, the plan clearly carries historical and strategic undertones. ENI is already committing $26 billion to production in Algeria, Libya, Egypt and Angola further entrenching the continent’s position as Europe’s energy supplier.
In a world of climate shocks, AI disruption and fragile global supply chains, Africa’s value has shifted from aid recipient to indispensable partner. But unless African entrepreneurship is structurally empowered to shape these partnerships, the continent may again find itself rich in potential, but poor in returns.
At the African Development Bank’s May session on the Mattei Plan, Angola’s economy minister Victor Hugo Guilherme was candid: “The Mattei Plan is a concrete opportunity to speed up our development under a mutual partnership.” That word mutual demands scrutiny. Who owns what? Who decides where value is created, and who retains it?
The Road Ahead: From Rome to Kigali, Lagos and Lusaka
President von der Leyen’s remarks strike an optimistic tone: “We will invest in a mix of traditional and high-tech solutions… This is a clear case of mutual interest.” From shade-grown coffee that supports rural livelihoods to AI platforms incubating the next unicorn, the possibilities are vast.
Yet to truly ignite African transformation, initiatives like the Mattei Plan must go beyond infrastructure and optics. They must foreground African founders, prioritize African procurement, and co-create financial instruments that do not leave local ventures locked out or boxed in.
When the Global Gateway Forum convenes in Brussels this October, African leaders and more importantly, Africa’s entrepreneurs should demand more than pledges. They should demand co-ownership. If Italy and Europe are serious about “equal partnerships,” the door is now open. But the continent’s changemakers must walk through it on their own terms.
