The second Italy-Africa summit, which follows the one that was organized in January 2024 and marked the formal debut of the Mattei Plan, is taking place this weekend in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The summit will provide a crucial opportunity to learn about not only the status of the Plan's execution, but also African nations' views and the new economic and financial agreements that will be inked in Ethiopia. The Mattei Plan has become more structured over the last two years, with a Control Room in Palazzo Chigi and the private sector playing an increasingly crucial role (especially large state-owned companies). The Mattei Plan has radically transformed Italian development cooperation policy. In the last two years, a number of new financial initiatives have been implemented in 14 African countries, with 29 of them already operational and 35 in the initial phase. The projects are divided into six pillars, with education and training accounting for the most (24), followed by energy (14) and water/infrastructure (12). There are numerous critical issues, such as the absence of a long-term perspective, the absence of a transparent digital platform to monitor progress, and the challenge of establishing specific financial instruments for small and medium-sized enterprises and the most fragile states, where Official Development Assistance remains essential for humanitarian purposes.