4–6 March 2026. The 9th edition of the Italy–Africa Business Week (IABW) was an international forum held in Rome from that brought together entrepreneurs, policymakers, investors, and civil-society representatives from Italy and various African countries.
Organized with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and other partners, the forum served as a platform for dialogue and cooperation between the two regions. Its aim was to strengthen economic and institutional partnerships by encouraging investment, business collaboration, and the exchange of knowledge between Italian and African stakeholders.
Extracts of the agenda
Overview of 04/03 Sessions: Italy–Africa Business Week Opens at the Farnesina
Overview of 05/03 Sessions: Africa and Italy, finance and female entrepreneurship: a day of dialogue at the Villa Aurelia Conference Centre
Overview of 06/03 Sessions: Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Youth and Institutions redefine relations between Italy and Africa
06/03 Session: Italy–Africa. Energy, Innovation, and Agriculture at the Center of the Sustainable Transition
- Ester Stefanelli, Manager public affairs: Works on institutional relations and policy advocacy supporting sustainable development initiatives: Africa subsahariana, Eni. She presented the perspective of a global energy operator
- Oroh Roland Oletu, Director, Agribusiness EU-Nigeria Platform
A platform fostering trade, investment, and collaboration between EU and Nigerian agribusiness actors. - Mario Di Giulio, Lecturer in Law of Developing Countries, Università Campus Bio-Medico. Italian university focused on life sciences, innovation, and sustainable technologies.
- Rima Jreich, Senior Policy and Regulatory officer, Res4Africa See some resources : Foundation promoting renewable energy partnerships between Europe and Africa. She stressed the urgency of recognizing women as entrepreneurs of green solutions, highlighting persistent gaps in education and infrastructure.
- Valentina Gentile, Head of the Innovation for Public Administration Service, ENEA Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development.
She highlighted synergies with Horizon Europe and, like several other speakers, encouraged the idea of a future “Erasmus Africa” project. - Madi Sakandé, General Manager, New Cold System. Enterprise working on cold chain solutions for agriculture in Africa.
- Cristina Altomare, Climate Finance Lead, UNDP Rome Centre: UNDP hub supporting sustainable development, partnerships, and innovation. She illustrated several initiatives, including Energy for Growth in Africa, proposed by the Italian government to accelerate climate financing.
06/03 The Role of the youth in the cooperation between Africa and Italy
- Ange Rosine Ishimwe, President, Africa
Connect Initiative.
ACI, is a Rome-based platform. The initiative aims to bring together young students and scholars to foster intercultural communities of solidarity, share ideas, and build networks. - Angelique Umutoni, Program Coordinator, Africa Connect Initiative
She referred to the AU-EU Youth Action Lab. This is a transformative initiative under the broader AU-EU Youth Lab programme, designed to address the lack of opportunities for youth in Africa and Europe to collaborate, innovate, and drive solutions to shared challenges. Implemented by a dynamic consortium including Oxfam, Restless Development, and the European Youth Forum, the Youth Action Lab empowers young changemakers across continents.
- Carlos Lougourou, Outreach Coordinator, Africa Connect Initiative
- Giuseppe Bennici, International business developer
- Roxani Roushas, Youth4Climate Coordinator, UNDP. She shared stories from Youth4Climate—from women running electric tuk-tuks in Liberia to the production of indigenous textiles—31,000 active members worldwide proving that change.
- Moderator: Francis Kaduki, Project Assistant, Italia Africa Business Week
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