Industry & Mining

Côte d’Ivoire’s industrial sector has a long and storied history as one of the most developed in the sub-region, but as with many parts of the economy, it is recovering from the adverse impact of a decade of unrest. Resolution of the political crisis in 2011, and the recovery that it sparked, has started to bring about improvements. As such, the secondary sector increased its contribution to national GDP to 30% in 2011, compared to 27% in 2010, according to figures from the Ministry of Industry and Mines. While rising global prices of natural resources such as oil and gas, which accounted for 21% of the sector in 2011, have been a key factor, an uptick in agro-industrial activity in cocoa, palm oil and rubber has led to higher output in the nation’s processing plants. Other factors were public works and energy, which accounted for 9% and 3%, respectively. While the 2012 Investment Code and the new industrial policy are steps in the right direction, there is scope for more improvement.

This chapter contains interviews with Adham El Khalil, CEO, Eurofind Participation; and Clare Short, Chair of the Board, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.