Country profile Côte d'Ivoire

Population: 27 million
Area: 322,463 km² (8 times the size of the Netherlands)
GDP growth: 6.7% (2022)
Head of state: President Alassane Dramane Ouattara

NABC and Côte d'Ivoire

In October 2023, the NABC facilitated a regional trade mission to the Salon International de l’Agriculture et des Ressources Animales (SARA) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire in cooperation with RVO and the Dutch embassies in Francophone West Africa. For a group of 50 agribusiness entrepreneurs from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Benin, and Chad, NABC and Yiriwa Intercontinental Consulting organised stands under the Netherlands pavilion, workshops and seminars, matchmaking with Dutch companies, and field visits, which led to valuable insights and concrete collaborations on sustainable agriculture solutions.

At the invitation of the Dutch Government, the Ivorian Ministry of Animal and Fisheries Resources (MIRAH) took part in a poultry mission to the Netherlands from April 18 to 23, 2022. The mission objective was for the Ivorian participants to become acquainted with the development of the Dutch poultry sector through meetings and visits respectively with Dutch experts and operators in the poultry sector.

In Nov-Dec 2019, NABC coordinated two trade missions to the SARA (Salon de l’Agriculture et des Ressources Animales) in Abidjan: one in collaboration with Hortifresh and Inclsve (horticulture) and one in collaboration with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the Dutch Embassy in Abidjan (poultry and horticulture).

In November 2018, NABC coordinated an agricultural trade mission to Côte d’Ivoire at the AgroFood West Africa, commissioned by RVO.

Investment climate

‘For the last 5 years, Cote d’Ivoire’s growth rate has been among the highest in the world,’ according to the CIA’s World Factbook. Agriculture and horticulture offer the greatest opportunities, as well as port development (Abidjan and San Pedro). The agricultural sector is growing. Côte d’Ivoire’s main export products are oil, cocoa and coffee. Sectors that contribute the most to national GDP in 2017 are services (53%), industry (27%) and agriculture (20%) (CIA).

The maritime sectors, as well as fruits and vegetables are also compelling. Local processing of agricultural products is growing. The country has had a stable growth of around 7% for a number of years. The country has seen an improvement in business climate, a relatively calm political situation and a growing number of investments. While doing business in Côte d’Ivoire, good knowledge of French is important. One of the challenges to be aware of are high price fluctuations, while production depends on climatic conditions.

Concluding the successful visit, NABC identified opportunities for future projects and activities, including:

an incoming delegation to the Netherlands from the Suez Canal Economic Zone
an outgoing blue-green (irrigation) mission as suggested by the Minister of Agriculture
Setting up a bilateral Chamber of Commerce/Dutch Hub in Cairo
Organisation of several “Inform & Inspire” sessions on opportunities in the focus sectors.

In 2021, NABC hosted an Inspiration, Knowledge-Sharing and Matchmaking visit to Egypt. NABC’s Managing Director Rosmarijn Fens led a group of 12 Dutch companies who delved into the climate-resilient agricultural opportunities of Egypt. During the visit, an MoU was signed with the Egyptian African Businessmen’s Association.