E4Impact foundation and UNIDO sign a joint declaration to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda

Milan, February 7, 2024 - Letizia Moratti, President of E4Impact Foundation, and Gunther Beger, Managing Director of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), have signed today at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan a joint declaration, in the presence of the Rector Franco Anelli.  The collaboration will contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda, with particular reference to SDG 9: “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”. The partnership will be related to the development of cooperation projects, as well as the promotion of public-private partnerships, to give rise to sustainable and innovative enterprises capable of creating new jobs in Africa.

This joint declaration will strengthen a collaboration that has already been underway for years and is aimed at involving additional partners, including governmental institutions, cooperation entities, universities, private companies, and NGOs.

Concrete examples of public-private partnerships initiatives with Italian stakeholders include the Coffee Training Centre and the Creative Hub Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, the Center for Circular Economy in Coffee and the Oyo Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in the Republic of the Congo, the E4Impact Entrepreneurship Center in Nairobi.

Gunther Beger, Managing Director of the Directorate for SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation at UNIDO: “In 2023, amid global challenges, only 15% of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are on track for 2030. We can do better together. Recognizing the important catalytic role that the private sector plays in bringing about transformative change and finding innovative solutions to development challenges, UNIDO strongly supports the establishment of strategic public-private alliances. In this context, the alliance with E4Impact contributes to promoting entrepreneurship and skills development as a powerful tool for boosting job creation, especially in the African continent”.

Letizia Moratti, E4Impact Foundation, President: "There is a clear alignment and strong complementarity in the vision of UNIDO and E4Impact in supporting the sustainable growth of African countries. For us it’s fundamental to foster public-private partnerships (PPP) and in this sense our Foundation has three strengths. First of all, a strong rooting in Africa, where we operate in 20 countries with a great variety of projects for the development of new sustainable African businesses. Secondly, the fact of having our "head" in Milan, which is the ideal environment for developing the logic of strategic PPPs. Thirdly, the connection with the Università Cattolica and with the academic world, which ensures the quality of our interventions and the ability to contribute to the development of Africa's human capital."

Franco Anelli, Rector of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore: "The great obstacle to Africa's development is the lack of a local entrepreneurial fabric. The originality of E4Impact Foundation consists in training entrepreneurs, with an approach inspired by social responsibility. A training that takes place by forging partnerships with African universities and carrying out educational activities that are also carried out thanks to the support and know-how made available by the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore."

E4Impact Foundation

Present in 20 African countries with entrepreneurial training programs, business accelerators and multiple projects, the E4Impact Foundation has been fostering and operating win-win partnerships between Italian and African companies for years. Thanks to the connection with more than 11,600 trained African entrepreneurs, an extensive network of institutional relationships and contacts with local business networks, E4Impact is able to guarantee Italian companies a professional and secure approach to new markets.

UNIDO

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in economic and industrial development. It is headquartered at the UN Office in Vienna, Austria, with a permanent presence in over 60 countries. UNIDO comprises 172 member states, which together set the organization's policies, programs, and principles through the biannual General Conference.

E4Impact Foundation | Press Office

Albanesi PR – Communication Advisory

Marco Albanesi | +39 329 3987262 |

Laura Ceresoli | +39 348 6597052 |