Doing Business in Côte d’Ivoire: Interview with Moussa Abdul Reda

Interview with Moussa Abdul Reda, CEO of SOREF – Groupe Reda

What is your global view of the business climate? What is your point of view on the current situation? How would you describe business in Côte d’Ivoire?

Côte d’Ivoire is a country where it is not really very difficult to set up a business. The state has set up something very interesting which is the CEPICI (the Ivorian Investment Promotion Centre), which allows foreign investors or even those residing here to have easy access to creating a business, researching industrial sites and facilitating all administrative formalities. Therefore, there is business to be done and there are possibilities and opportunities. We are fortunate to be quite well diversified in several sectors so certain sectors do not work as well and others work really well.

Are there any difficulties?

The biggest difficulty is competition. With any activity there is competition. Competition is often unfair in business, even in industry, on the other hand, in certain areas, competition is somewhat accentuated and is a price war.

You are fortunate to have multiple activities. It would be interesting for our readers and viewers to describe SOREF.

I would say SOREF is really a group of human dimension. Not mentioning property companies which have a completely independent department. We have three trading businesses, SOREF- which specialises in construction materials and has three departments (hardware, steel and materials). Next we have SONEDIS, which is similarly a trading and distribution business and it also has three departments (household electrical goods, hardware goods and cars). And the third trading business is SIPACI, which specialises in all kinds of frozen products. So it is here where there is real diversification – we do frozen products from all over, namely Europe, Brazil, and America. So those are the three businesses specialising in trading and commerce.

Furthermore we have two industrial businesses, one specialising in steel and the transformation of steel. It is not cutting edge technology, it is rather more traditional; making nails, sheet metal, corrugated sheets all of which are still used a lot in Africa for roofing and covering. We make flat metal sheeting, wheelbarrows, etc. The second industrial business is SOCIPED which specialises in paints. This consists of paint for buildings, varnish, solvents, cement, glue, etc.

Next we have two service companies. The first is Mondial Transit, which deals with the logistical side of things at customs. It handles all of the formalities at customs and tracks merchandise. Then the final international company is International Voyages, which specialises in plane tickets, tax agreements, etc., and along with this company, we have a real estate business, specialising in property and apartments that we have built in recent years and which have been put up for rent and these are working well.

Is there a policy or a particular strategy? Is there a synergy amongst the group?

I myself am the founder of various companies; none of them was bought; they were all established by myself. My first business was set up 50 kilometres from here in 1975. From 1980 until now, these companies were created step by step, and for years we have just had voluntary staff, creating diversified companies with different sectors. We have reverted to real estate as it has a certain synergy that is generated between commercial businesses of construction materials, even steel industries and property businesses. In a certain way they sell each other.

So if we had to talk of current affairs, what are your current priorities?

In all honesty, we are more and more drawn to the property business. There are certain sectors, which we have a lot of belief in. Côte d’Ivoire is a country with a large housing deficit. There is a need for 40,000 houses and there is hardly 5,000 built per year. As a result there is a large need for housing. This has been vastly improved and in the last five years there has been a strong demand so our priorities lie in major property developments.

Are there investors who want to come and invest?

Absolutely. For some time we have had big businesses from Morocco coming and settling in the properties market. There is a large development, moreover there is a place for international investors; we invite them to come. We are ready to collaborate, to develop. We have big projects on the Bassam motorway starting from next year; they are housing projects to be sold or rented.

What types of projects are they? What are the characteristics?

If you want to talk of projects, we have two that generate a great interest from our side. The first is Sociprime on the Bassam motorway, which will very soon be finished by a Chinese company. The existing road is going to become an express way, so we have a land of 126,000 m2 on the Bassam motorway, and we have the intention of developing a housing program and we are at the urbanisation phase of the process. Town planners are working to create streets and starting the construction work. We have two types of housing, it’s evident that we believe a lot in this project so from next year we are going to launch the project – the second project.

What are the advantages of this project? Why would someone be interested in investing in it?

I don’t want to criticize but housing sometimes resembles rabbit cages. We want to be different. We are going to take care over the building phase and construct something with clean lines and we are sure we are going to have interest from Ivoirians living abroad. We want to build housing such as villas with small gardens or apartments-flats with two or three bedrooms on three floors, etc. However, as I said, we’re going to make something very clean cut. A housing complex with a school and supermarket within, light, well adapted; something different.

So the location, is it next to the beach or the lagoon?

It’s next to the motorway, almost 2.5 km from the large town of Bassam. It will be a very pleasant place to live as it’s not far from the sea and the lagoon and not far from Bassam city. So there really are advantages of living there. I think that with the new motorway, in 20 minutes max, you can be at the centre of the Plateau.

Regarding this particular project, do the investors already know when it will all start?

Well, we hope to present the housing at least by the end of the first trimester of 2015. So probably around April or May 2015, we can propose the sale to future investors, I mean the models of the houses that will be on the market.

You also have a second project in the hospitality industry.

Exactly. The second project in the hospitality industry will be located on the ‘Boulevard de Marseille’. We are currently in the finishing process of a project, which is taking place on the ‘Rue de la Paix’ and the ‘Boulevard de Marcory’. We are working to put the housing up for rent from the first trimester of 2015 so we are hoping to attack the hospitality project on the ‘Boulevard de Marseille’ where we already have a building permit. It will be a 120 room hotel situated next to the lagoon, on a very fitting and beautiful site.

So, this project is open to investors who want to participate?

Yes, we wouldn’t close the door on them.

The first trimester of 2015 is pretty soon, isn’t it?

No, the first trimester of 2015 is the end of the housing project so after the housing project (in the second trimester of 2015) we will start on the hospitality project. And if there are any investors interested, they are welcome.

What kind of clientele will it attract?

It’s a top of the range 5 star luxury hotel for businessmen. It is going to be a hotel with all the comforts to accommodate businessmen, bankers and those passing through on business. It is going to be well situated as it is next to the lagoon, with a desirable view of the lagoon.

Are you going to collaborate with a big name hotel brand?

Yes, we are going to speak with a big name in hospitality, but at the moment I cannot divulge the name of this franchise.

Are there other areas and interesting projects that could interest potential partners and investors?

Previously I spoke briefly about the areas and activities we are involved in and if there are opportunities and investors who are interested in them, we are open to that. We are quite diversified and if they are serious partners, we will be open to working with them.

What is your vision for Côte d’Ivoire in future years?

Côte d’Ivoire has been through some extremely difficult times. Nowadays I would say the security problems have been resolved. In a rather healthy business climate, there is competition everywhere and Côte d’Ivoire is in full development. We believe in our country and we continue to develop our businesses. We continue to invest because, as I described earlier, we have confidence in our country to invest and we believe in it. We think that after the 2015 elections, business will develop more and more and we are on the right track.

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