On February the 15th, 2024, E4Impact Foundation and Lions International Multidistretto 108 Italy met at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan to sign a memorandum of understanding aimed at promoting collaborative activities to foster socio-economic development on the African continent.
The three-year agreement aims at supporting social, training and development projects through the voluntary involvement of Lions Clubs and E4Impact’s extensive experience in Africa. The purpose of the partnership is to create an integrated supply chain able to generate value and to support international solidarity projects in Africa.
The Foundation’s role within this strong and fruitful alliance will be to provide technical support and know-how to launch and sustain new business initiatives on the African continent, as well as to coordinate on-site contacts with entrepreneurs, universities, professionals and vocational training centres.
“The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Lions International Multidistretto 108 Italy is just the beginning of a three-year collaboration that will allow us to join forces and further increase the impact of our activities in Africa. This partnership aims to provide concrete and targeted support to the socio-economic challenges of many African communities. Through synergies and joint actions, we will strive, thanks to the voluntary and free contribution of Lions and the know-how of E4Impact, to encourage social entrepreneurship and promote sustainable development in several key sectors for African countries” said Letizia Moratti, President of E4Impact Foundation.
Claudio Sabattini, President of the Lions Board of Governors, stated instead: “This agreement is part of the activities that Italian Lions clubs have been carrying out in African countries for more than 50 years, with many hundreds of concluded projects: from the installation of water wells to the construction of health and education facilities, thanks also to the fundamental economic support of the Lions International Foundation – LCIF and always in close cooperation with the more than 1. 500 local Lions clubs, united in the spirit of brotherhood and cooperation among peoples that inspired the work of our founder Melvin Jones”.
Mario Molteni, Professor of Business Administration, Rector’s Delegate for the coordination and development of business relations at the Università Cattolica and CEO of E4Impact Foundation, pointed out: “The memorandum of understanding signed between Lions International Multidistrict 108 Italy and E4Impact heralds a multiple collaboration: on the one hand the prospect of involving professionals belonging to this organisation within our initiatives as mentors and coaches of entrepreneurs, on the other hand the idea of fostering entrepreneurial partnerships between Italy and Africa and the possibility and hope that Lions can provide scholarships capable of fostering access to E4Impact’s and therefore the Catholic University’s masters courses in the various African countries.“
In the end, Senator Alessandra Gallone, Advisor to the Italian Minister of University and Research, added: “The involvement of the third sector will also be determinant for the success of the projects linked to the Mattei Plan, especially regarding the fundamental topics of education and health, they are bridges that must be supported in every way. The agreement that will be signed between Lions md Italia and E4Impact is an exemplary model of virtuous cooperation for the development of collaborations between Italy and Africa.”
The President of the E4Impact Foundation, Letizia Moratti, and the President of the Lions Governor’s Council, Claudio Sabattini, signed the Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of Senator Alessandra Gallone, Advisor to the Minister of University and Research (MUR), the Dean of the Faculty of Economics of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, prof. Antonella Occhino, and the Rector’s delegate for business relations and CEO of our Foundation, prof. Mario Molteni.