Proger participated in the 3rd Internationalization Forum: Opportunities in Africa and the Middle East. Focus: Egypt, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, organized by Confindustria Abruzzo Medio Adriatico in collaboration with Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo. The conference was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, SACE, SIMEST, ICE, Confindustria and private companies.
Umberto Sgambati, Chairman of Proger and Vice-Chairman of Confindustria Abruzzo Middle Adriatic, introduced the event by highlighting the opportunities offered by the “Mattei Plan” and the importance of the new organic approach to supporting the Italian business system abroad, which is beginning to be perceived more concretely than in the past. He then outlined Proger’s international experience: “The need to be rooted in the territory, which emerged during the discussion, has always been central for us: in fact, we are well established in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, where we have developed important projects in various sectors over the last 10 years, thanks to a combination of local resources, Italian experts and partnerships with leading players in the country”.
Speaking from Cairo Mauro Della Giovampaola, Director of International Business Operations at Proger, echoed his sentiments: “We do not export products, we provide services locally, so one of the most important aspects is integration into the local context. Today in Egypt we are perceived almost more as a local company than an Italian one, with 80% of our staff being local, but we have gone beyond that: we are creating an engineering hub that can export services to the company’s other branches in Italy and around the world. For example, on the basis of a patent held by Versalis – ENI Group, we are developing a project for a facility to produce second-generation biotheanol from lignocellulosic biomass. This is a project based on the principles of the circular economy, aimed at sustainability and the revitalization of the agricultural sector, using biomass for non-food purposes and replicable in different contexts, particularly in Africa, for which we have already received excellent feedback from both CDP and Confindustria Assafrica, as well as from the World Bank and the European Bank”.