Economy
From The Report: Cote d'Ivoire 2018
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Having missed out on much of the developing and emerging markets boom that characterised the global economy during 2000-10 due to its domestic political crisis, a more recent period of out-performance has allowed Côte d’Ivoire to bounce back, making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world with a bright medium-term outlook. Strong investment, particularly in infrastructure, has been an important driver of this. According to the IMF, investment as a share of GDP is expected to increase steadily from the 18.2% achieved in 2015 to 20.1% in 2018, before reaching 21.9% by 2020. This should be bolstered by recent efforts to root out corruption and cement rules of law, which have seen improvements in the judicial system and are helping the country move closer to emerging market status. Achieving the latter is the primary goal of the National Development Plan 2016-20.

This chapter contains interviews with Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, Minister of Budget and State Portfolio; Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank; Emmanuel Essis, Director-General, Investment Promotion Agency of Côte d’Ivoire; and Jean-Marie Ackah, President, General Confederation of Businesses of Côte d’Ivoire.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Towards tertiary: Agriculture is slowly giving way to manufacturing and services
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In the half-decade following the return of political stability in 2011, Côte d’Ivoire was one among the fastest-growing economies in the world. Having missed out on much of the developing and emerging markets boom that characterised the global economy during 2000-10 due to its domestic political crisis, the more recent period of out-performance has allowed the country to bounce back. Strong investment has been an important driver of this, particularly as the public and private sectors…

Analysis

Balancing forces: Robust manufacturing and state initiatives help keep public finances steady amid lower cocoa prices and output
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Steady industrial growth coupled with increased spending on infrastructure and modest inflation helped sustain momentum in Côte d’Ivoire’s economy in 2017, balancing out lower returns from the agricultural sector. GDP growth in the country reached 7.6% that year, despite a fall in revenue due to lower cocoa prices and social unrest. In October the IMF said the Ivorian government was on target to reduce its fiscal deficit to 4.5% of GDP in 2017. It added that new measures to ensure debt…

Interview

Upwardly mobile: Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, Minister of Budget and State Portfolio, on improving living standards and pursuing economic diversification
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Interview:Amadou Gon Coulibaly How are the living conditions for lower-income citizens being improved? AMADOU GON COULIBALY: To revitalise the government’s actions aimed at meeting the expectations of our population, the state has put in place a number of projects with large social implications. Concerning access to clean water, important hydraulic projects have been put in place, not only in Abidjan, but also across other parts of the country. Regarding access to health care services,…

Analysis

Pragmatic partners: Budgetary concerns present both opportunities and challenges for infrastructure plans
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Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have a long and varied history in Côte d’Ivoire, dating back to at least 1960. To date, PPP projects have occurred almost exclusively in the infrastructure sector, and have been carried out under a variety of models, such as private sector management, leasing, concession, build-own-operate and build-own-transfer. Early Model According to the World Bank, the contract for the management of water resources in the country is the oldest and largest of its…

Interview

Supportive structures: Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank (AfDB), on attracting investment to the region and promoting growth
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Interview:Akinwumi Adesina What can be done to formalise African economies? AKINWUMI ADESINA: The AfDB estimates the informal economy in Africa accounts for 50-80% of GDP, 60-80% of employment and as much as 90% of new jobs. The vast size of the informal sector stems partly from institutional deficiencies, such as a failure to enforce regulations, as well as factors that inhibit compliance. The quality of the regulatory framework is vital in determining a firm’s decision to join the formal…

Interview

Supportive structures: Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank (AfDB), on attracting investment to the region and promoting growth
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Interview:Akinwumi Adesina What can be done to formalise African economies? AKINWUMI ADESINA: The AfDB estimates the informal economy in Africa accounts for 50-80% of GDP, 60-80% of employment and as much as 90% of new jobs. The vast size of the informal sector stems partly from institutional deficiencies, such as a failure to enforce regulations, as well as factors that inhibit compliance. The quality of the regulatory framework is vital in determining a firm’s decision to join the formal…

Analysis

Spread the wealth: Efforts under way to create equitable economic growth
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While economic growth has been strong in recent years, it has not always been inclusive. There are significant differences in regional growth rates between the commercial centre of Abidjan and the rest of Côte d’Ivoire, as well as more broadly between the north and south of the country. Interregional redistribution efforts have been insufficient to offset these discrepancies or address broader inequalities. In the near term, the fall in cocoa prices is likely to exacerbate disparities…

Analysis

A safe debt: Reducing annual deficits amid global macroeconomic and commodity price pressures
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After five years of strong economic growth and relative political calm, frustrations have been mounting at the slow pace of improvement in living conditions in certain segments of the population. Those with the most leverage, such as security forces and public servants, have pressured the government with demands for increased spending. At the same time, external macroeconomic developments have caused growth and tax revenue to underperform against expectations. Together, this has seen the…

Interview

Better service: Emmanuel Essis, Director-General, Investment Promotion Agency of Côte d’Ivoire, on revising the Investment Code and improving conditions for investors
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Interview:Emmanuel Essis How will the revision of the Investment Code improve incentives for investors? EMMANUEL ESSIS: McKinsey has been chosen to perform an assessment on the strength and weaknesses of the code as it currently stands, as well as of the investment environment as a whole. They have looked into the investment ecosystem from the perspective of investors, and identified the challenges that come up during the investment process. So far, what we can say is that any revision of…

Analysis

Diversified deals: Authorities look to finance debt through eurobond issues
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Although macroeconomic performance remains robust compared to peer countries, there is clear evidence of a slowdown driven by the 50% fall cocoa prices between the late-2015 peak and early 2018. This puts pressure on tax revenue and the fiscal deficit while slowing GDP growth. The result is a higher debt-to-GDP ratio than anticipated, causing a greater need for the government to raise funds from the financial markets. The IMF originally forecast a slow but steady reduction in both the fiscal…

Interview

Home-grown opportunities: Jean-Marie Ackah, President, General Confederation of Businesses of Côte d’Ivoire (Confédération Générale des Entreprises de Côte d’Ivoire, CGECI), on empowering local players
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Interview:Jean-Marie Ackah How could local competitiveness be improved? JEAN-MARIE ACKAH: In my opinion, the competitiveness of local companies is in line with that of the region, but remains weak from a global perspective. When we compare ourselves to neighbouring countries, Côte d’Ivoire remains one of the top performers; however, we must benchmark our capabilities with our real competitors, such as emerging countries in Asia and South America, among others. Currently, operational costs,…