Italy helping to create Africa's new entrepreneurs
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Italy helping to create Africa's new entrepreneurs

Italy helping to create Africa's new entrepreneurs

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(AGI) Milan, Sept. 16 - Italian and African companies,families, universities and associations are working together ina project to train Africa's new ruling class. Together theyhave formed Foundation E4Impact, with, among others, Mapei,Salini Impregilo, the Always Africa Association and theCatholic University of Milan. The goal of the foundation is totrain and coach a new generation of entrepreneurs with strongsocial values through a broad alliance with Africanuniversities. "Our goal is to transfer knowledge to thefuture middle class of entrepreneurs and managers of businessesand public affairs, in order to form the human capital of thosewho will lead the African states," said Franco Anelli, rectorof the Catholic University Milan. The university is the spiderin the web of the initiative, building on its alreadyestablished commitment with several universities on thecontinent. "We are already active in five African countries butwe would like to get to at least 15 within a few years", saidMario Molteni, Professor of Business Administration at theCatholic University. According to Molteni, the FoundationE4Impact "is certainly a great initiative for Africa, but alsofor Italian companies interested in investing or expanding inthe continent. Therefore, we wish to broaden the category oflarge companies participating in the project." One ofthese companies is Salini Impregilo, one of the Italian firmswith much experience in Africa. "People usually don't leaveAfrica to escape wars, but to escape poverty and to seek abetter life," said the company's CEO, Pietro Salini. "We mustgive different answers to the people of Africa and theFoundation does so by creating the conditions to form a newruling class in the nations of the continent." E4Impacttries to achieve its goal by training new entrepreneurs throughthe Global MBA in 'Impact Entrepreneurship', in collaborationwith universities in Africa and taught by the CatholicUniversity. The MBA was already launched in Kenya, Uganda,Ghana, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. So far, 130 entrepreneurshave been trained and 132 companies have been created. At thisrate, Molteni added, in 2022 there will have been more than3,000 entrepreneurs trained, 500 new businesses opened andthousands of new jobs created. . .
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