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The Foundation |
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HistoryGiordano Dell'Amore, economist, Professor of Banking and formerly Rector at Bocconi University in Milan, died in 1981. |
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In 1967 the decision by Professor Giordano Dell'Amore, then chairman of Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde (Cariplo), to create the Centre for Financial Assistance to African Countries (FINAFRICA) in Milan was consistent with the history of the savings bank, which used to allocate an important part of its yearly profit for social and cultural purposes, and represented the most important step in a series of initiatives implemented for the benefit of the developing countries The setting up of FINAFRICA was due to Professor Giordano Dell'Amore's capacity to react with exceptional speed to the call for change arising in the sixties in the newly independent Countries of the African continent which were trying for the first time to develop an economic system for the direct satisfaction of the needs of the local population. Since the beginning, some key concepts have inspired Finafrica's strategy and action. The first one was the importance of local savings mobilisation, a concept that only many years later would become a basic tenet of development, and is currently shared by the entire international co-operation community. The second basic concept was related to the role of rural areas in the developing world, where the dualism between urban and rural development was emerging. Also in this instance, with a great foresight, the emphasis was placed on the awareness of the enormous social impact of the development of rural areas in respect of urban ones and on the necessity of a substrate of small-and medium-sized enterprises, handicraft and commercial businesses which form the basic fabric on which the real capacity to organise, on a widespread basis, the economic and entrepreneurial activities producing wealth is built up. In the early seventies a high-standard full-service residential and training facility was built thanks to the munificence of Cariplo and to the concession of the grounds by the Municipality of Milan. In the same building were hosted the activities of the research and technical assistance sectors. The initial focus on Africa was subsequently extended to other geographical areas - Middle East, Asia, Latin America and recently Eastern and Central Europe - and, in order to broaden the range of services offered, the Foundation has changed its name from "Finafrica", too strongly geographically characterized, into "Giordano Dell'Amore" from the name of its founder. When, in 1991, the banking business of Cariplo was transferred into a joint-stock company (Cariplo Spa), the philanthropic activities of the savings bank - including its generous support to Fondazione "Giordano Dell'Amore" - were retained in the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde. |
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