AFRICA AND ITALIAN BUSINESSES: EXPORT, IMPORT AND INTERNATIONALIZATION

27/08/2026

📂 🌍 Category

Economy and Business

Africa Is Not a Future Promise: It Is Already a Market

When discussing Africa and economic relations with foreign markets, there is a risk of focusing attention only on new programmes announced by institutions.

The reality is much more concrete.

Italian businesses can already operate in African markets through export, import, commercial cooperation, industrial partnerships and, for those with the appropriate characteristics and capabilities, through more structured internationalization strategies.

Not all businesses have the same size, organizational structure or level of presence in foreign markets.

A small business may have an export opportunity.

Another may be interested in importing raw materials, components, products or technologies.

A more structured company may be looking for a distributor, agent, industrial partner or investment opportunity.

There is therefore no single way of operating internationally.

There are different needs, different capabilities and different paths.

And this is precisely why Africa must be approached by starting from concrete opportunities for businesses, without discrimination based on company size.

THE TOOLS ALREADY AVAILABLE

The Italian system already has financial and non-financial instruments designed to support businesses in their relations with foreign markets.

SIMEST, a company of the CDP Group, supports the international growth of Italian businesses through various lines of intervention.

The results for the first half of 2026 show significant growth: SIMEST reports that during the first half of 2026 it supported approximately €6 billion in investments, involving around 1,900 businesses, 90% of which were SMEs and 60% of which received support for the first time. Support for exports reached €4.8 billion, while subsidized finance exceeded €1 billion.

These are important figures because they demonstrate that public support is not exclusively aimed at large companies.

SMEs are a central component of the system.

And this is particularly significant for a productive system such as Italy's, in which small and medium-sized businesses represent an essential part of the real economy.

EXPORT, IMPORT AND INTERNATIONALIZATION: THREE DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS

It is important, however, not to confuse different concepts.

Export means selling products or services in foreign markets.

Import means purchasing from abroad goods, raw materials, components, technologies or other factors necessary for business activity.

Internationalization, on the other hand, may involve a more structured process: a stable presence abroad, investments, industrial partnerships, joint ventures, commercial or production structures, and other forms of international integration.

An SME does not necessarily have to pursue all these levels.

It can start with export. It can develop import activities. It can seek a partner. It can subsequently consider a more structured path.

The ability to operate internationally should therefore be considered a modular process, built around the company's actual characteristics.

FINANCE IS A TOOL. BUSINESS COMES FIRST.

In recent months, we have already examined the SACE and SIMEST instruments designed to support Italian exports, including those that facilitate transactions involving deferred payments and help manage the risk and mobilization of receivables arising from international sales.

These are important instruments.

But it is necessary to maintain a fundamental distinction:

financing does not automatically create a market.

Nor does it automatically create a customer, importer, distributor, agent or industrial partner.

Before the financial instrument come:

the market, the business opportunity, knowledge of the context, identification of the counterpart and verification of the potential partner.

Only afterwards should we assess how to financially support the transaction.

Finance can therefore accompany the business.

It cannot replace it.

THE REAL STARTING POINT: FINDING THE RIGHT COUNTERPART

For a company looking at a foreign market, the question should not only be:

"What financing can I obtain?"

The question that comes first is:

"Which market is suitable for my business, what need can I meet, and with which counterpart can I build an economically sustainable relationship?"

This question applies to those who want to export.

It applies to those who want to import.

It applies to those looking for an agent or distributor.

It applies to those looking for an industrial partner.

And it applies to those considering a more structured internationalization strategy.

The market comes before the financial instrument.

ITALY AND AFRICA: NOT JUST EXPORT, BUT ECONOMIC RELATIONS

This is where, in my view, we also need to change the way we look at Africa.

Not simply:

Italy → export → Africa.

But:

Italy ↔ Africa → export → import → partnerships → supply chains → investment → technology → new markets.

An Italian company can export to Africa.

An Italian company can import from Africa.

An Italian company and an African company can become partners.

They can cooperate in production, distribution, processing, technology or logistics.

Economic exchange is not a one-way street.

It is a relationship.

And its value increases when a simple commercial transaction develops into the creation of longer-term economic relationships.

THE MEDITERRANEAN AS AN ECONOMIC SPACE

This perspective is particularly interesting for relations between Italy and North Africa.

Algeria and Morocco are important counterparts for Italian businesses and offer different characteristics and opportunities.

The Italian Embassy in Algiers has published an updated guide for Italian businesses interested in the Algerian market, highlighting growing mutual interest in expanding commercial relations. At the 5th Italy-Algeria Intergovernmental Summit in July 2025, the Business Forum held in connection with the meeting brought together more than 500 representatives from 400 Italian and Algerian companies, with 27 agreements signed and hundreds of B2B meetings.

There is also a concrete support structure for economic relations with Morocco: the Italian Embassy in Rabat provides a business guide for companies and identifies manufacturing, automotive, agri-food and agritech, water and desalination, renewable energy, infrastructure and transport among the sectors of interest.

CDP Business Matching also includes Morocco among the markets in which the platform connects Italian companies with international partners; in January 2026 it organized an Italy-Morocco event focused on agritech and water management, aimed at Italian and Moroccan companies and operators, with B2B meetings.

The CDP Business Matching platform also identifies opportunities in the Moroccan market in agribusiness, automotive, renewable energy and machinery.

These elements demonstrate an important fact:

economic relations between Italy and Africa are not merely a future prospect. In several markets and sectors, they are already operational and supported by institutional instruments and concrete opportunities for companies to meet.

FROM PROJECT TO PARTNER

For this reason, when a company approaches us about a foreign market, we do not automatically start with the question:

"What incentive is available?"

We start with the questions that come before it:

Where is there an opportunity?

What product, service or expertise can be offered?

Who could be the potential counterpart?

Which partner can actually be reliable?

What commercial or industrial model can be sustainable?

Only afterwards can we assess which financial, insurance or institutional instruments are consistent with the transaction.

In my view, this is the difference between knowing about an instrument and knowing how to build an international business operation.

A NEW PERSPECTIVE: CACAO CONNECT

It is within this already existing scenario that the recent presentation of Cacao Connect, an initiative promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, deserves attention.

On 26 August 2026, MAECI presented Cacao Connect at the Meeting di Rimini as an initiative intended to bring together diplomacy, development cooperation, industrial expertise and research, creating a common platform for cooperation with producing countries. The first phase concerns Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Cameroon, Nigeria, Uganda and the Republic of the Congo.

The project is interesting because it proposes a model in which institutions, businesses, research and cooperation can contribute to the development of supply chains.

But it is important to be very clear.

Cacao Connect is not currently a new form of financing directly available to businesses.

It should therefore not be presented as a new call for applications or as a measure that can already be used to finance a business project.

It is a newly presented initiative whose concrete developments and any instruments that may subsequently be defined will need to be followed.

This distinction is important in order not to turn an institutional announcement into a false expectation for businesses.

FROM COCOA TO A BROADER MODEL

The real interest of Cacao Connect, therefore, is not only the cocoa supply chain.

It is also the potential model of cooperation it proposes:

institutions + businesses + research + cooperation + development finance.

If this model subsequently produces concrete instruments and opportunities, it could also become relevant for Italian businesses operating in the sectors involved.

But today it is correct to stop at what is documented.

Monitor, understand and assess. Do not promise what does not yet exist.

THE FUTURE IS IN PARTNERSHIPS

The evolution of economic relations between Italy and Africa should not be built solely through the sale of products.

It should be built through mutually beneficial economic relationships.

Export and import are two directions of the same relationship.

A commercial partnership can become industrial cooperation.

Industrial cooperation can generate investment.

Investment can create new supply chains.

Supply chains can generate skills, technology, employment and new markets.

This is the transition that can transform relations with foreign markets from a simple commercial transaction into economic growth.

OUR APPROACH

This is the approach we take towards foreign markets.

We do not consider export, import and internationalization to be paths reserved for large companies.

Every business can have its own way of opening up to foreign markets, proportionate to its size, capabilities, products and objectives.

A small business may need to find its first foreign customer.

Another may be looking for an importer or distributor.

Another may need an industrial partner.

A company already operating internationally may instead want to expand its markets or build new relationships.

Our role is to help turn these needs into concrete paths, through market knowledge, the search for relevant counterparts, verification of opportunities and identification of potential international partners.

Financial and institutional instruments are then assessed according to the actual project, not the other way around.

CONCLUSION

Africa is not a promise to wait for.

It is already an economic space in which Italian businesses can export, import, cooperate and build partnerships.

Financial instruments exist.

Business-matching platforms are operational.

Institutional relations are already underway.

New initiatives, such as Cacao Connect, are opening up further prospects, which must nevertheless be assessed on the basis of their actual development.

The real challenge remains turning opportunities into genuine economic relationships.

From the market to the counterpart.

From the counterpart to the partner.

From the partner to the business.

And, when conditions allow, from business to international growth.

This is the perspective with which Consorzio Suggestioni Campane Promotion looks at foreign markets: export, import and internationalization, without discrimination based on company size, placing the concrete needs of businesses and the creation of international economic relationships at the centre.

Luigi Carfora

President of Consorzio Suggestioni Campane Promotion

President of Confimi Industria Campania

Note on Content and Copyright

This article, its texts, analyses, argumentative structure and original content are the work of Luigi Carfora and Consorzio Suggestioni Campane Promotion. Reproduction, in whole or in part, copying, modification, adaptation or dissemination of the content, in any form or through any means, is prohibited without the prior authorization of the author. Sharing the link to the original article is permitted, provided that the author, title and source are retained in full. Any unauthorized use will be considered a violation of the author's rights.

Sources and Further Reading:

Luigi Carfora, President of Consorzio Suggestioni Campane Promotion and President of Confimi Industria Campania, presenting export, import and internationalization opportunities for Italian businesses in African markets.

Graphic featuring Luigi Carfora, President of Consorzio Suggestioni Campane Promotion and President of Confimi Industria Campania, presenting opportunities for export, import and internationalization between Italian businesses and African markets. The composition highlights international trade, logistics, market access, business partnerships and long-term economic cooperation between Italy and Africa.