Enrico Cuccia, Mediobanca, and the decolonization of Guinea. An attempt at money-doctoring to boost Italian trade with Africa

Abstract

This paper looks at Enrico Cuccia's attempt at establishing an issuing bank, along with a consortium of major European banks, in Ahmed Sekou Toure's Guinea in the aftermath of its independence from France in 1958. The topic is framed both in Mediobanca's African business in the 1950s and in Cuccia's own geopolitical and development views. As Guinea was not an isolated case, the paper also takes into consideration Italy's new place in the postwar world economy and general issues such as the Cold War, decolonization, European integration, as well as the role of merchant banking in shaping foreign economic policy tools and goals.