Investment Outlook for Côte d’Ivoire: Stability Key to Country Rich in Opportunities

…and (C) the Potential for Investors

Jean-Louis Billon, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Côte d’Ivoire), sees Côte d’Ivoire as a developing country rich in opportunities:

Côte d’Ivoire is a country with great potential. We were ahead of everyone between 1960 and 1985—Singapore, South Korea, Morocco, Tunisia—because this country was well-managed, with a clear vision and a development process that was sustained for years.Then we went into instability and experienced backwards development, but we’re still a developing country.

A developing country is a country in construction that shouldn’t see economic crises like the ones we have experienced. As opposed to Europe or the US, which are already mostly developed, here everything is still to be developed.

The first opportunity is the restoration and reconstruction of what was destroyed during the crisis and the war, plus the catch-up that we have to do that will bring many more opportunities in every area of the economy where we have to catch up.

Mahamadou Sylla, Deputy CEO of IPS (Industrial Promotion Services) West Africa, is equally bullish:

It’s quite simple: this country will grow, and the national growth in the coming years will be phenomenal. One needs to understand that in West Africa, there are two economic unions:

UEMOA and ECOWAS. ECOWAS is a free trade zone that represents 200 million consumers (it is not restricted to Côte d’Ivoire). Why select the Côte d’Ivoire for investment? Because it is the most advanced country of the region in terms of infrastructure (power, road, communication).

Daniel Gnangni, Director General of PETROCI (La Société Nationale d’Opérations Pétrolières de Côte d’Ivoire), sees President Ouatrarra’s “dawn of new hope” as the basis on which foreign investors can invest in Côte d’Ivoire with confidence. Gnangni assures them that both the country and his company are ready to receive them:

Côte d’Ivoire has returned to normality. We suffered a lot from this long period of crisis that has just ended. [But now] Côte d’Ivoire is reasserting itself. And it is our right to resume our rightful place among the nations that count.

 We would therefore like to reassure our friends that we are back, that we have taken our place, that security is being put in place. And provisions have been made to assure investors and visitors and to assure all who come here to visit us that they can find a suitable framework, a convivial framework, and a business framework enabling them to maximize benefits….