At the 2025 Made in Italy Innovation Forum, held from 23 to 25th June 2025 in Cernobbio and promoted by MICS - Made in Italy Circolare e Sostenibile, UNIDO ITPO Italy joined the plenary panel session “World, Europe, and Italy: ideas for sustainable development” to strongly reaffirm its mandate of accelerating inclusive and sustainable industrial development in developing countries through innovation-driven cooperation and solid partnerships.

The plenary provided an opportunity to present concrete examples of this approach, such as the circular textile project in Ghana — implemented by UNIDO ITPO Italy with the support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and in collaboration with Ghana’s Ministry of Trade and Industry — tackling the dual challenge of second-hand clothing imports and local textile waste, while fostering synergies between Italian and Ghanaian innovation ecosystems.

The Forum also highlighted the strategic relevance of the Italian production model. Italian SMEs and industrial clusters, thanks to their flexibility, specialization, and ability to innovate sustainably, serve as a replicable reference for emerging economies. This is reflected in UNIDO’s initiatives such as The Egyptian Cotton Project — in collaboration with Italian companies Filmar and Albini — and for off-grid water and energy access in Somalia – through collaboration with Genius Watter – where Italian technologies tailored to local contexts are generating positive environmental, economic, and social impact.