Economy
From The Report: Cote d’Ivoire 2019
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Although economic growth has been slowing since 2016, the outlook remains bright, with the IMF forecasting an annual expansion of at least 6.5% through to 2023. However, there are still challenges that need to be overcome. The country remains highly vulnerable to external shocks, especially the fluctuation of commodity prices. Economic expansion has been greatly supported by the state, but the government is expected to curtail public spending in the coming years to narrow its fiscal deficit, as agreed with the IMF. Despite rising investment, private sector con-tributions remain weak, meaning further efforts are needed to improve governance, tackle corruption and cement the rule of law. This chapter contains interviews with Adama Koné, Minister of Economy and Finance; Emmanuel Esmel Essis, Director, Investment Promotion Agency; Jean-Marie Ackah, President, General Confederation of Businesses of Côte d’Ivoire; and a viewpoint with Abdallah Boureima, President, UEMOA Commission.
Articles from this Chapter
Money in motion: Efforts to encourage private sector investment are under way as the government moves to balance the fiscal deficit
Keeping the faith: Adama Koné, Minister of Economy and Finance, on making progress and maintaining confidence in structural reformOBGplus
Interview :Adama Koné How is economic growth being supported? ADAMA KONÉ: Our economic performance over the last six years has been remarkable, with an average annual growth rate of around 9%. The implementation of the National Development Plan (Plan National de Dé veloppement, PND) 2012-15 and structural reforms have helped drive economic activity and placed the country on a path of strong, sustainable and inclusive growth. This performance and the continuous improvement of the business…
Expanding investment: Emmanuel Esmel Essis, Director-General, Investment Promotion Agency (Centre de Promotion des Investissements en Côte d’Ivoire, CEPICI), on bolstering economic opportunitiesOBGplus
Interview :Emmanuel Esmel Essis What role does CEPICI play in promoting Côte d’Ivoire’s economic progress? EMMANUEL ESMEL ESSIS: CEPICI is the one-stop shop for private investment in Côte d’Ivoire. To this end, it is the designated body to federate, coordinate and rationalise all government initiatives and actions in the area of investment promotion and private sector development under the supervision of the State Secretariat for the Promotion of Private Sector Investment. With more…
State income: Fiscal reforms seek to increase the government’s tax revenueOBGplus
In its ambition to maintain sustainable growth, one of the main challenges faced by Côte d’Ivoire is its capacity to increase income, particularly its tax revenue. Although the amount of duties collected rose steadily in recent years, the tax-to-GDP ratio has remained relatively low, rising modestly from 15.1% in 2015 to 16.5% in 2018, some way from the government’s target of 20% by 2020. By comparison, South Africa boasts a rate of 26%. Taxable Base Although Côte d’Ivoire made a significant…
Framework reform: Jean-Marie Ackah, President, General Confederation of Businesses of Côte d’Ivoire, on creating an environment conducive to growthOBGplus
Interview : Jean-Marie Ackah What efforts are under way to make it easier to do business in Côte d’Ivoire? JEAN-MARIE ACKAH: Since 2012 Côte d’Ivoire has started to improve the business climate using “Doing Business” criteria as benchmarks of policy-making. The initial goal remains to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory framework. Thus, a reform agenda was designed with input from different public and private stakeholders. The government is aiming…
All for one: Abdallah Boureima, President, UEMOA Commission, on coordinating multilateral efforts to reform the common marketOBGplus
Abdallah Boureima : Viewpoint On October 24, 2013 the Conference of Heads of State and Government of UEMOA inaugurated an annual review through Act No. 05/2013/CCEG/UEMOA to encourage members to accelerate the implementation of reforms, policies, programmes and community projects within the union. In application of the act’s provisions on the modalities for the review’s implementation, Decision No. 13/2013/CM/UEMOA from December 19, 2013 provides for an evaluation of the reforms and the state…
International interest: Foreign investment continues to expand and diversifyOBGplus
Since the end of the political and military crisis in 2011, inward foreign direct investment (FDI) to Côte d’Ivoire has progressed continually, doubling from $302m in 2011 to $675m in 2017, and reaching $607m in the first half of 2018 alone. Strong economic performance and the government’s focus on rebuilding infrastructure have driven Côte d’Ivoire’s stock of FDI to $9.5bn at end-2017. Rising Investment Côte d’Ivoire has been one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies in recent years.…
Empowering entrepreneurs: National plans facilitate the growth of small businessesOBGplus
Although they account for the majority of the companies in operation in Côte d’Ivoire, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are confronted with a number of difficulties – similar to most countries in Africa – that prevent them from developing and expanding. Issues include access to credit, low survival rate in the first three years of operation, weak competitiveness and a large informal sector. Challenges Côte d’Ivoire had an estimated 50,000 SMEs in 2013, the latest available data.…
Business Barometer: Côte d’Ivoire CEO Survey:OBGplus
As a strong advocate of economic and trade integration in West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire has placed great emphasis on rebuilding and extending region-wide infrastructure networks. Such efforts have the local business community upbeat, with 68% of respondents in the 2019 edition of the Business Barometer: Côte d’Ivoire CEO Survey saying the African Continental Free Trade Agreement will have a positive or very positive impact on intra-regional trade levels. While moves to encourage economic diversification are well under way, the majority of business executives (33%) say that agriculture will remain the primary driver of economic growth in 2025,…
Shifting trade winds: Regional integration among emerging economies and a raft of new multilateral agreements bolster international trade – Cote d’ IvoireOBGplus
Global trade faces protectionist headwinds that are dampening the outlook for growth in the coming years. According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), trade volume grew by 4.7% in 2017 and is expected to have moderated slightly to 4.4% in 2018 and dip to 4% in 2019. Although this means growth will fall below the 4.8% average seen since 1990, it is still well above the 3% average achieved since the 2007-08 global financial crisis. Nevertheless, significant uncertainty driven by an escalating US-China tariff war, acrimonious Brexit negotiations, and wariness surrounding US involvement in several multilateral trade agreements is affecting business…
Talent map: Changing global migration patterns as a result of growing anti-migration sentiment – Cote d’ VoireOBGplus
As the world’s nations and businesses become increasingly interconnected, so too does the flow of global migration. According to the OECD’s “International Migration Outlook 2018”, in 2017 some 258m people resided in a country other than the one they were born in and more than 5m foreign-born persons settled in OECD countries. The flow of migration is believed to not only improve the lives of the migrants themselves, but also to contribute significantly to the economic opportunities of individual businesses and countries. Despite this, public opinion across the globe is turning against migration, much to the frustration of business leaders…
