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With growing demand for electricity both at home and abroad, Côte d’Ivoire’s energy network is in need of diversification and further initiatives to expand power production. With the Council of Ministers adopting six decrees aimed at liberalising the electricity sector in October 2016, the government is counting on private investment to reach its goals. The push for oil exploration and production, coupled with recent discoveries, is attracting renewed investment into Côte d’Ivoire’s energy sector and is likely to contribute to growth in oil production on many levels. The sizeable domestic gas deficit is also stimulating investment in gas exploration and transportation infrastructure.

Once considered West Africa’s industrial powerhouse, Côte d’Ivoire’s manufacturing sector was badly affected by a decade of political unrest that curtailed further expansion. However, this is gradually being reversed as political stability and consecutive years of economic growth are enhancing the environment for industrial development and helping to diversify the country’s production base. Putting the right fiscal and legislative incentives in place will be vital for the authorities as they look to increase local processing. Besides for strengthening traditionally strategic industries, the attention to new sectors, such as mining, are set to help to diversify the economy, create employment and, in the case of mining specifically, channel new development money into communities. This chapter contains interviews with Ramzi Omais, Chairman and CEO, SOTICI; and Kadjo Kouamé, Managing Director, Société d’Etat pour le Développement Minier de Côte d’Ivoire.

The insurance sector in Côte d’Ivoire has been posting solid growth figures for years. The pickup in the country’s economy after 2012 has made the sector increasingly attractive, prompting the arrival of new competitors aiming to establish a foothold in West Africa’s biggest insurance market. The influx of foreign players, coupled with regional regulatory changes, are poised to transform what was previously a highly concentrated sector ¬– a handful of operators command over 80% of the annual volume of premiums – with a large number of providers, including many small and undercapitalised insurers, still competing fiercely for market share. Positive economic developments will continue to drive insurance growth, while recently implemented regulatory changes are sure to lead to market consolidation over the coming years. This chapter contains an interview with Thierry Labbé, Head of Francophone Africa, Gras Savoye Willis Towers Watson.

Côte d’Ivoire’s capital markets are closely linked to the broader fortunes of the eight-state UEMOA of which it is a member. The country is also home to West Africa’s regional stock exchange, the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières, one of the fastest-growing stock exchanges on the continent. On the back of strong macroeconomic growth, equity activity has been increasing steadily over the past five years, with a strong rise in the volume of transactions. Nonetheless, the bourse continues to face challenges common to emerging and frontier market exchanges around the world, including liquidity issues. This chapter contains interviews with Edoh Kossi Aménounvé, Managing Director, Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières; and Kadi Fadika-Coulibaly, Managing Director, Hudson & Cie.

The banking sector has seen sustained double-digit growth since 2011, reinforcing Côte d’Ivoire’s role as the UEMOA bloc’s primary banking centre. The potential for continuing that growth is significant, as is the impact a larger financial sector would have on the national economy. That said, there are weaknesses in terms of sector performance with regard to its ability to lend, in particular. To address this, the authorities are currently steering a course of ambitious restructuring, namely the privatisation of low-performing public banks, to further clean up the sector. The restructuring plan’s primary goal is to make banking more profitable, as well as increase retail and corporate lending. This chapter contains an interview with Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, Governor, BCEAO; and a roundtable with Daouda Coulibaly, Managing Director, Société Ivoirienne de Banque; Charles Daboiko, Managing Director, Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire; and Jean-Louis Menann Kouamé, CEO, BICICI.

Progress on several major infrastructure projects helped sustain Côte d’Ivoire’s sixth consecutive year of solid economic growth in 2016. Works planned under the 2016-20 National Development Plan will be a key driver of growth and are set to play a pivotal part in the country’s bid to achieve emerging-economy status before the end of this decade. The economy has benefitted from prudent fiscal policies, monetary stability, rising public spending and structural reforms aimed at improving the business climate and encouraging public-private partnerships. However, there are some economic headwinds – including fragilities in the banking sector, regional inequalities and a continued dependence on commodity exports. This chapter contains interviews with Jean-Marie Ackah, President, General Confederation of Businesses of Côte d’Ivoire; Emmanuel Esmel Essis, Director-General, Investment Promotion Agency of Côte d’Ivoire; and Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank.