The Mattei Plan: Algeria at the heart of Italy's Africa strategy, and what it opens for Italian companies
The Mattei Plan: Algeria at the heart of Italy's Africa strategy, and what it opens for Italian companies
Italy has made Africa a strategic priority. Its instrument has a name: the Mattei Plan. And within it, Algeria is not one partner among many, it is one of Rome's energy pillars. Here is what that means, concretely, for an Italian company looking at Algeria, and why today's Algerian legal framework makes setting up simpler than many assume.
The Mattei Plan, in brief
The Mattei Plan is Italy's cooperation strategy for Africa. Presented at the Italy-Africa Summit in Rome on 28 and 29 January 2024, it is framed as a partnership between equals rather than a classic aid model, built around priority sectors: education and training, health, agriculture, water, energy and infrastructure.
The plan is named after Enrico Mattei, founder of Italy's national energy group Eni and a figure of the country's post-war industrial rise. The choice of name is telling: it places energy, and therefore Italy's major gas partners, at the center of the relationship with the continent.
Algeria, a central energy partner
For Italy, Algeria is not a secondary partner. It supplies around 30 percent of Italy's natural gas, carried mainly through the TransMed subsea pipeline. On 25 March 2026, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni traveled to Algiers and announced a reinforcement of cooperation through what she called the "national champions," Eni and Sonatrach, with projects touching on shale gas and offshore exploration. That is what Euronews reported about the visit.
The relationship runs deep. Eni has operated in Algeria since 1981. In July 2025, Eni and Sonatrach signed a memorandum of understanding on hydrocarbons, the energy transition and renewable energy. According to Eni, the initiatives it covers are meant to help raise gas production up to 5.5 billion cubic metres per year by 2028, for more than $8 billion of investment.
What it changes for Italian companies
A state strategy and gas contracts set a climate. They do not form a company for you. For an Italian company weighing Algeria, the practical questions stay the same: can I own my project, repatriate my profits, and set up the structure without spending months on it? Today's Algerian framework answers all three more clearly than is often assumed.
The 51/49 rule no longer applies to most projects
For years, Algeria was summed up by the so-called 51/49 rule, which required a local majority in a company's capital. That is no longer the general rule. Under Executive Decree 21-145, the 51 percent local majority applies only to specific strategic sectors:
- energy and mining,
- pharmaceutical manufacturing,
- transport and transport infrastructure,
- defense,
as well as to pure import for resale. Outside those cases, an Italian project can be 100 percent owned by its Italian founders. For most industrial, service or technology activities, the local-majority-partner requirement simply does not apply.
Repatriating profits: the Law 22-18 framework
The second question for any investor is the return on their money. Article 8 of Law 22-18 guarantees the transfer of dividends and sale proceeds, under conditions. The main ones are: capital brought in through the official banking channel and in convertible currency, foreign financing of at least 25 percent of the project, and an activity that is not limited to import for resale. The transfer is made after corporate income tax (IBS) and a 15 percent withholding tax. Met at incorporation, these conditions open the right to repatriation.
Legalizing documents: the Hague Apostille since 9 July 2026
A classic hurdle when setting up was legalizing foreign corporate documents, a slow chain of consular stamps. Since 9 July 2026, Algeria applies the Hague Apostille Convention. Italy is a member. In practice, an Italian commercial-register extract, a set of articles or a power of attorney can now be recognized in Algeria with a single apostille, without the full consular legalization.
Incorporating without traveling
You do not need to be in Algiers to form a company. Registration can run fully remote, through a power of attorney and a resident gerant. Italian founders sign from Italy, and the structure takes shape on the ground.
Where to start
The Mattei Plan sets the political direction. The Algerian legal frame is already favorable. To turn both into an operating company, we have prepared dedicated resources:
- our guide to company formation in Algeria for Italian investors,
- our soft landing support to prepare your arrival.
We have already run this corridor logic for Germany: see our file on the Algeria-Germany corridor. The approach is the same on the Italian side.
Studying Algeria from Italy? Let's talk about your project. UpGrowth handles the structure, the domiciliation and the paperwork, so you can focus on your business. Pricing is quoted to fit your specific project.
