Business

Italy Funding Africa’s coffee industry with €15 million

The UNIDO Director -General, Gerd Müller, emphasized the urgency and significance of the partnership, stating: “Around 125 million people worldwide depend on coffee for their livelihoods. ‎‎

Published

2 years ago

April 3, 2025

OCHEFA

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Image credit: The Expressowork

The government of Italy is making €15 million available to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) for the promotion of sustainable coffee production in Africa.‎‎

The funding arrangement was signed recently by Debora Lepre, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Italy to the International Organizations in Vienna, and the UNIDO Director- General, Gerd Muller.‎

‎Ambassador Lepre expressed Italy’s commitment to supporting sustainable agriculture and economic resilience, stating: “The signing of this funding arrangement marks an important milestone in our long-standing collaboration with UNIDO and aims to trigger a chain reaction to attract other partners and investments, promoting a new paradigm of development cooperation as a partnership between equals.” ‎‎

The UNIDO Director -General, Gerd Müller, emphasized the urgency and significance of the partnership, stating: “Around 125 million people worldwide depend on coffee for their livelihoods. ‎‎

This programme will help to improve the lives of the people at beginning of the coffee supply chain. Better jobs and better incomes for families and communities. I am very grateful to the Government of Italy and to all of our other partners in this initiative. ‎Transforming Africa’s Coffee Sector: UNIDO and Italy Drive Climate-Resilient Solutions.”‎‎

Coffee remains one of the world’s most important cash crops deeply embedded in our cultures and economies, sustaining over 12.5 million farms globally. ‎‎

In Africa, coffee accounts for approximately 12% of the global production.‎

Coffee plays a fundamental role, representing a source of foreign currency, tax income generation, and jobs in both producing and consuming countries.‎‎

Despite the increasing global demand for coffee, the sector faces mounting challenges, including climate change, fluctuating global prices, and regulatory pressures, all of which threaten the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers.

Related Topics:Africa coffee Coffee Featured

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November 5, 2026

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NNPCL wants to sell 10% equity via IPO on NGX, LSE

NNPC is expected to spend at least the whole of 2027 preparing for the proposed offering, with the listing primarily intended to strengthen corporate transparency and governance in line with Nigerian law.

Published

1 day ago

November 4, 2026

OCHEFA

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) is considering selling between 5% and 10% of its equity through a potential initial public offering (IPO), with the proposed listing expected to focus primarily on Nigeria’s domestic capital market.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., Bashir Bayo Ojulari, disclosed this in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, adding that the company could also pursue a secondary listing in London or New York.

The disclosure comes shortly after the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s IPO closed on October 27, following a two-week extension of its subscription period from the initial October 13 deadline.

Ojulari indicated that raising additional capital would be a secondary consideration rather than the main reason for going public.

The company is also considering listing some of its subsidiaries separately, following a model adopted by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company.

Beyond the potential IPO, Ojulari disclosed that Chinese companies have expressed interest in acquiring equity stakes in some of NNPC’s smaller refineries, particularly the Port Harcourt and Warri facilities, which require substantial rehabilitation.