Ivory Coast, the prosperous West African country is Africa’s fastest growing economy, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The country’s phenomenal growth rate of 8.5 % greatly contrasts with the rest of sub-Saharan Africa which has only seen 3 % growth.

Yet the stupendous growth, wow factor and status don’t push away the fact that nearly half of the population lives in poverty and without access to basic electricity, hard reality. In spite of this and existing challenges various investments and projects are contributing to an improved quality of life, in an incremental way. Also, inequality gap has not closed enough due to many years of political turmoil and civil conflict, but business is back – and booming in Ivory Coast.

But not every Ivorian is reaping the rewards. While the economy powers ahead, many citizens have been left behind, with the World Bank estimating that nearly half of the population still lives in poverty.

Despite the reality for many on the ground, the IMF still predicts the country’s GDP will increase by an average of 7.4 percent between 2018 and 2020.

Quick Facts about Ivory Coast

Geographic  situation: Ivory Coast is situated in the West Africa. It’s limited in North by Mali and Burkina Faso, in the west by Liberia and Guinea, in the East by Ghana and in South by Atlantic ocean.

Area: 322462 sq km.

Population: 20 millions of people since 2010.

Political Stability: Since 2011 Alasanne Dramane Ouattara is the president of Ivory Coast and the country is politically stable

Strength:  Economy is based on agriculture and we are the First producer of Cocoa, fourth producer of coffee in the world.

Financial capital: Abidjan economical capital

Investing in the Ivory Coast

Since 2011 after the election, the economy of Ivory Coast has grown tremendously as one can see that the GDP number has gone towards north. The economy is quite stable and fertile for investment.  Various sectors are ripe for investment and can give the investor a good ROI over the long run.

• Solar energy
• Infrastructure
• Technology
• Agriculture
• Industrialization
• Services·

For each sector, the government has invited investors to develop the sectors and also is ready with flexible investment policy for each sector

1. Solar energy, as 45% of the rural zone needs basic electricity, a decent success can convert villages into a local hub for entrepreneurial activities which in turn can increase the consumption and help the economy grow.
2. Infrastructure: As the economy grows, so does the aspiration and migration of population from villages to cities happens which creates the need for building elephant city.  Typically these cities should be at a distance of 30-40 km from Abidjan. These new towns and modernize of existing town can create an avalanche effect on other sectors of the economy and in turn accelerate the growth.
3. Technology one of the most important core of any sector, whose needs are felt everywhere, in this age of connectivity. The internet has become a lifeline for various activities of any business that seamlessly connects the consumers and the business offers tremendous potential.  Ivory Coast IT indicators are in line with the rest of the world and has plenty of scope for the investor communities to harness its potential.
4. Agriculture  that has been the backbone of  the Ivory Coast economy  and is poised to enter the next agricultural revolution. Learning the best practices, modernization of farming techniques along with Machine learning technologies can be more productive as well as help to have a balanced growth, that takes care of the climate changes also.  What Europeans or US  Industries and entrepreneurs have done with coffee and cocoa products it can be replicated by local entrepreneurs in collaboration or partnership across the globe for other things.
5. Balanced Industrialization is the need of the hour and transforming various raw material into viable products like transformation of  cocoa as chocolate is required very much.
   

How  foreign enterprise could set up a subsidiary of chocolate, technology, agriculture, services… enterprises in Ivory Coast?

The process and policy are simple, now days everything has become very easy under President Ouattara, if you have a collaborator in Ivory Coast. It’s possible and simple to create  your own enterprise or subsidiary in 72 hours for maximum € 300 and no capital included. Not only the policies and compliance are made investor friendly, but the political environment has become more stable since 2015. The government is now inviting private investors in different sectors to come and invest, spur the growth leading to be the first powerhouse economy in Africa by 2020.