Lattanzio KIBS is a guest of the MAECI at the national development cooperation event

The private sector as a transformative partner for development

Lattanzio KIBS took part, at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in the third edition of COOPERA, the national public conference dedicated to development cooperation. Two intensive days, on 26 and 27 May in Rome, in which the private sector played a central role as a transformative partner and driver of change.

Organised by the MAECI together with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the event took place across two prestigious venues - the Auditorium della Conciliazione and the Corsie Sistine of the Monumental Complex of Santo Spirito in Sassia - bringing together a varied and high-profile group of participants: national institutions, international organisations, NGOs, universities, businesses and representatives of partner countries, all united by the goal of reimagining international cooperation as an integrated system built on equitable partnerships, strengthened dialogue and shared development, capable of generating real impact in partner countries. The debate was enriched by prominent institutional figures, including the Deputy President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, the Deputy Minister for Development Cooperation Edmondo Cirielli, Carsten Staur - Chair of the OECD DAC Committee -, Maurizio Martina, Deputy Director-General of the FAO, and Ministers Lollobrigida and Schillaci. Also present were representatives of organisations such as UNHCR, Save the Children, ActionAid, Sant'Egidio and companies including Ferrero and illycaffè.

Partnerships, results and knowledge: the pillars of Italian development cooperation

Among the key highlights was the presentation of the OECD-DAC peer review of Italian development cooperation, delivered by Carsten Staur: Italy is the only G7 country to have increased its official development assistance since the last review in 2020. The review recognised the country's strong political commitment, its support for multilateralism and its shift towards a partnership-based approach in line with the Mattei Plan for Africa, while also identifying areas for improvement - including reducing institutional fragmentation and developing dedicated instruments to engage the private sector in a more coordinated manner.

Concrete examples of public-private co-creation were also presented: the coffee training centre in Ethiopia - born from a collaboration between Italian development cooperation and illycaffè - offers a replicable model in which public and private actors co-invest and skills remain in the territory; and the partnership between Save the Children and Ferrero in Côte d'Ivoire targeting child labour in the cocoa supply chain, with measurable results: a 49% reduction in child labour among 5-17 year-olds and a 17% decrease in families living below the poverty line.

Space was also given to Italy's humanitarian action in major contemporary crises - Gaza, Sudan, Lebanon, Ukraine and Niger - where cooperation operates in coalition with Italian NGOs, international organisations and military contingents.

Education and vocational training were finally identified as fundamental priorities: investing in knowledge means promoting territorial stability and empowering young people to become active protagonists of the societies in which they live.

Lattanzio KIBS in development cooperation: expertise at the service of impact

The themes that emerged at COOPERA 2026 are ones Lattanzio KIBS knows well. Moving beyond the aid paradigm towards lasting capacity transfer processes, co-creation between public and private actors from the design phase onwards, and the need for solid, measurable and scalable project work: these are the same guiding principles that shape the company's approach to international cooperation.

This commitment translates into concrete projects alongside the MAECI and other institutional partners - from the evaluation of the ILDEA II project in Egypt on engaging diaspora communities in local development, to the States General of Cultural Diplomacy in 2023, through to EU development cooperation visibility programmes in Nigeria - where Lattanzio KIBS supports public administrations by bringing method, evaluation tools and system-building capacity. Because cooperation generates real impact when the private sector is not simply called upon to implement decisions already made by others, but participates in shaping them from the outset, thinking in terms of value chains, competencies and measurable results.