Industry & Mining
From The Report: Cote d'Ivoire 2017
View in Online Reader

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.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Expanding base: Foreign investment and new industries sustain the sector
OBG
plus

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. With economic growth reaching an estimated 8.8% in 2015, on the back of equally strong figures of…

Interview

Utilise and incentivise: Ramzi Omais, Chairman and CEO, SOTICI, on increasing investment inflows and navigating hurdles to growth
OBG
plus

Interview: Ramzi Omais How accessible are other ECOWAS member countries for Ivorian exports? RAMZI OMAIS: Geographically, Côte d’Ivoire benefits from its strategic position, which has been at the forefront of the country’s economic policy for decades. The country’s strong network of roads enables us access to all of the ECOWAS member states, while its port infrastructure gives us entrance to a large number of coastal cities, such as Dakar and Lagos. However, administrative hurdles at the…

Analysis

Locally sourced: New manufacturing capacity set to revamp the FMCG market
OBG
plus

With economic growth pushing household incomes upwards in Côte d’Ivoire, new opportunities are arising for retailers and the development of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). The improvement of domestic conditions, coupled with a rising population, is leading several global FMCG manufacturers to set up local production facilities to cater for the growing demand in Côte d’Ivoire and some of its neighbours. According to World Bank statistics, from 2000 to 2015 the country’s GNI per capita…

Analysis

In the zone: New industrial areas are attracting fresh investment
OBG
plus

With a stated goal of having industry account for close to 40% of the country’s economy by 2020, up from 25% currently, the authorities are focusing on the development of new industrial zones to cater to emergent manufacturing capacity. The effort involves revamping existing economic zones and developing new areas to be managed under public-private partnerships. The need to establish sufficient industrial space and improve existing areas has further become a necessity after the country’s civil…

Interview

The gold standard: Kadjo Kouamé, Managing Director, Société d’Etat pour le Développement Minier de Côte d’Ivoire (SODEMI), on the country’s practices in mineral exploitation
OBG
plus

Interview: Kadjo Kouamé How attractive is the mining code to operators that wish to work in Cote d’Ivoire? KADJO KOUAME: In 2014, Côte d’Ivoire won a prize during the Mines and Money conference in London for having the best mining code. This means that our code is one of the most advanced in the world. In practice, of course, there is still some room for improvement, but countries in the region that are currently reviewing their own codes ask for a copy of ours to get inspired. This…

Analysis

Digging for growth: An acceleration of activity is strengthening mining’s contribution to the economy
OBG
plus

With improved conditions for exploration on the ground and a stronger regulatory environment, Côte d’Ivoire’s mining potential is attracting growing attention from foreign exploration companies. Although the development of the sector still lags behind some of its neighbours, such as Ghana, mining exploration is becoming increasingly important for the Ivorian economy. According to the Chamber of Mines of Côte d’Ivoire (Chambre des Mines de Côte d’Ivoire, CMCI), the sector now accounts…