The Presidential Week: A Visit By The Italian Republic President, H.E. Sergio Mattarella Alongside E4Impact Foundation President, Ms. Letizia Moratti
“What’s happening here shows intentional collaboration and is in line with our focus as a country. We keep pushing for a stronger collaboration between Kenya and Italy to give the necessary support towards this kind of impact here in Kenya and beyond.” – H.E. Sergio Mattarella
On Thursday 16th March, 2023 we were privileged to host the President of the Italian Republic, H.E. Sergio Mattarella where he and his delegates managed to interact with some of the entrepreneurs that have been supported by the E4Impact Foundation Center in Kenya and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation. His Excellency was received by the President of E4Impact Foundation, Ms. Letizia Moratti accompanied by the CEO of the foundation, Prof. Mario Molteni. Accompanying President Mattarella was his daughter, the First Lady of the Italian Republic, Laura Mattarella; the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hon. Edmondo Cirielli; the Ambassador of Italy to Kenya, H.E. Roberto Natali; the Director of Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in Kenya Giovanni Grandi among other distinguished guests.
During her brief remarks, Ms. Moratti painted a picture of the foundation’s commitment to build impact in Kenya and Africa at large, and on this, H.E. Mattarella added, “What’s happening here shows intentional collaboration and is in line with our focus as a country. We keep pushing for a stronger collaboration between Kenya and Italy to give the necessary support towards this kind of impact here in Kenya and beyond.” President Mattarella further expressed his excitement and gratitude for the opportunity to interact with the entrepreneurs and see firsthand the power of collaboration in making an impact possible.
In addition to hosting the President, Ms. Letizia Moratti and Prof. Mario Molteni were excited to hold meetings with some of the partners working with the foundation’s Center in Kenya. They met Mr. Samson Toniok, the CEO of the National Environment Trust Fund (NETFUND); a government agency whose mandate is to facilitate research intended to further the requirements of environmental management, capacity building, environmental awards, environmental publications, scholarships, and grants. At the meeting, the parties discussed potential areas of continued collaboration including fundraising for capacity-building programs for local green innovators in a bid to address the country’s climate challenges. So far, 9 entrepreneurs in the green economy innovation space under NETFUND’s Green Innovations Award program have been supported through acceleration and incubation at E4Impact Kenya Center.
The President and team also met representatives from Equity Bank Group to discuss potential areas of collaboration like unlocking access to finance by MSMEs and capacity building of enterprises. A team from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations also sought to deepen the relationship and discussed further areas of collaboration such as strengthening the Coffee, Maize, Gums and Resins value chains and access to markets. There was also a meeting with the Head of Cooperation, European Union Delegation to Kenya Ms. Irene Giribaldi, to discuss continued areas of partnership in accelerating MSMEs in the agri-food, circular economy & biodiversity sectors. Other meetings held were with Heifer International and USAID all towards strengthening relationships and discussing further collaboration.
Ms. Moratti and Prof. Mario were elated to also meet the Center’s team and congratulated them for the great work they have been doing to position E4Impact as a leader in training and building impact entrepreneurs. They strongly stated that the Kenyan Center has demonstrated the capacity to be the anchor for the growth of E4Impact in Africa.
We look forward to building more impact entrepreneurs and creating more impact in Kenya, Africa, and beyond under the umbrella of the foundation through collaboration and synergy with the Italian government, the agencies, and all partners with whom we have a shared goal.
By Wanjiru Kaburu, Communication & Marketing Lead – E4Impact Center, Kenya.
