Continuous Improvement of the Business Climate in Côte d'Ivoire

Recognizing the crucial role of the private sector as a driver of economic growth, Côte d'Ivoire relies on its contribution to job creation and wealth generation. Major reforms affecting the business climate have been initiated to enhance the country's attractiveness.

 

Key Reforms

Côte d'Ivoire has made significant progress in improving the business environment, as evidenced by its performance in various international rankings and indices.

This includes the launch in June 2023 of the Support Program for the Improvement of the Business Climate in Côte d'Ivoire (PACA-CI);

• the adoption in August 2018 of a new, more attractive and competitive Investment Code;

• the adoption of sectoral codes (mining, oil, electricity…);

• the creation of a One-Stop Shop for Business Registration (company creation in 24 hours);

• the establishment of a One-Stop Shop for Building Permits (GUPC), leading to faster issuance of building permits;

• the improvement of the legal and regulatory framework for building permits with the introduction of project classification and risk-based management;

• the establishment of a collaborative platform for on-site construction inspections;

• the establishment of a non-judicial complaints observatory in land matters;

• the creation of a virtual One-Stop Shop for Foreign Trade (GUCE) and the launch of a commercial information web portal;

• the establishment of the Abidjan Commercial Court, specialized in resolving commercial disputes;

• the gradual reduction of the registration fee on property transfers from 10% to 4%;

• the creation and operationalization of the Credit Information Bureau (BIC) and the integration of major billers into borrower rating services;

• the establishment of a national observatory on the quality of financial services for the dematerialization of tax declaration and payment on the e-impots application;

• the e-filing of companies' financial statements (Téléliasses);

• the dematerialization and monitoring of VAT credit settlements;

• the dematerialization of the declaration and payment of social contributions on e-cnps;

• the dematerialization of the public procurement process with the implementation of the SIGOMAP version 2 platform;

• the launch, in October 2018, of the unique portal for investor services www.225invest.ci;

• the online availability on 225.invest.ci of information related to all licenses, approvals, certifications, business permits, etc.;

• the dematerialization of the judicial activities of the Abidjan Commercial Court;

• the establishment of the Abidjan Commercial Court of Appeal (CACA);

• the establishment of a national register of movable securities;

• the strengthening of minority shareholder protection by instituting annulment remedies for minority shareholders against agreements presenting a conflict of interest;

• the strengthening of the regulatory framework for insolvency resolution and minority shareholder protection, etc.

 

These reforms have contributed to the creation of over 26,000 businesses and the mobilization of more than 1 trillion CFA francs in approved private investments in 2023, according to the Investment Promotion Center in Côte d'Ivoire (CEPICI).

 

Results and International Recognition

The progress made by Côte d'Ivoire over the past decade is remarkable, reflecting a significant improvement in various areas of governance and economic attractiveness:

• first place among African countries in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in 2022;

• 7th place among the most attractive African countries for investment in 2020 according to the South African financial group Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), a performance attributed to its increasingly diversified economy, marked by high growth and major infrastructure projects;

• first place among the twenty (20) most dynamic economies in the world in terms of commercial growth potential for the coming years, according to the report "trade 20 the rising stars of global trade" by Standard Chartered Bank published in September 2019;

• awarded the Anti-Corruption Prize by the African Union during the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government in February 2019;

• gained 67 places between 2013 and 2019 in the World Bank's Doing Business ranking;

• a rise of 24 places in global economic competitiveness (World Economic Forum Competitiveness Report, 2015);

• awarded the prize for the best country in terms of reforms in the mining sector at the "Mines and Money" forum in 2014;

• eligibility for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact Program in December 2015, confirmed by the signing of a grant agreement of 524.7 million US dollars in November 2017 after obtaining the Threshold in December 2014;

• membership in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) due to reforms made in transparency in government actions;

• significant improvement in Côte d'Ivoire's position in the Mo Ibrahim Foundation's Good Governance Index, moving from 41st to 18th place in 2019;

• compliance with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI);

• improvement in Côte d'Ivoire's financial ratings by the three largest international agencies (Moody's, Fitch, Standard & Poor's).