Embassy of India

ABIDJAN - COTE D'IVOIRE

The Embassy of India, Abidjan in collaboration with the Centre de Promotion des Investissements en Côte d'Ivoire (CEPICI), Village des Technologies de l'Information et de la Biotechnologie (VITIB), and Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank), organized the 2nd "India-Côte d'Ivoire Business Forum" at the Mahatma Gandhi IT & Biotech Park (MGIT-BP) in Grand Bassam on 27 June 2019 on the sidelines of the of the inauguration ceremony of MGIT-BP.

 

The Business Forum was inaugurated by the Excellency Secretary of State and MD of CEPICI HE Emmanuel Essis. More than 150 Ivorian and Indian businessmen attended the event. There were 20 Indian senior business executives representing 16 Indian companies who had travelled from India as well as other Indian investors based in Cote d’Ivoire and neighboring countries like Ghana, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

 

Addressing the event Ambassador of India to Cote d’Ivoire highlighted India’s unique engagement & partnership based on African priorities driven by their needs. He brought out the complementarities between the economies of India and Cote d’Ivoire and the great potential for win-win cooperation. He urged the Indian companies to take advantage of India’s cordial relations as well as the enormous opportunity offered by Cote d’Ivoire with young and dynamic demography, rich natural resources and unprecedented economic growth during the last few years.

 HE Mr. Emmanuel Essis during his speech touched upon various policy initiatives taken by the government of Cote d’Ivoire to make friendly for investors.  He welcomed the Indian businessmen to invest in Cote d’Ivoire and assured them all possible assistance by CEPICI.

 Ms. Meena Verma, General Manager of EXIM Bank during her presentation showcased the role of EXIM Bank in overseas investment for Indian companies and promoting business between India and Cote d’Ivoire.  She highlighted the successfully completed LOC projects in Cote d’Ivoire including the MGIT-BP.  

 Mr. Phillippe Pango, Director General of VITIB made a presentation on the opportunities for Indian companies to invest in MGIT-BP. Ms. Carole Versteeg made a detailed presentation on the activities of CEPICI as being the one-stop shop for investment and setting up business in Cote d’Ivoire. She mentioned that Cote d’Ivoire offered excellent investment opportunities especially in key sectors such as IT, pharma, agriculture, agro-processing and manufacturing.

 The presentations were followed by a Question and Answer Session wherein both the Ivorian and Indian Businessmen asked many interesting queries which were responded to their satisfaction.

 This Business Forum was a follow up of the 1st India-Cote d’Ivoire Business Forum organized on 18 December 2019.

June 27, 2019