Placed the aegis of Ivorian Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, a regional seminar on competitiveness in West Africa was held Thursday, May 31. Organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Côte d’Ivoire (CCI-CI) with the World Economic Forum (WEF), financial experts and business leaders from the public and private sectors have drawn up an inventory of fixtures. the business environment in the sub-region. Prospects were then identified.
For the president of ICC-CI, “competitiveness can not be conceived independently of the broader sets that are the sub-region and, more generally, the African continent, continent of all hopes”. However, regrets Fama Touré, “in terms of competitiveness, the structural weakness of companies keeps Africa lagging behind.” The seminar in Abidjan is worth its weight in gold. It took place in a context where GDP growth in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) is at an encouraging level, compared with economic areas in the world. “With rates of 6.6% in 2015; 6.8% in 2016; 6.7% expected in 2017 and a private investment rate up 21.2% in 2015; 22.1% in 2016, the sub-region is in the leading pack at the world level “, welcomed the share of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Côte d’Ivoire.
On a broader scale, “promising” initiatives are being taken to promote Africa’s development. Continent must rely on its own strengths to create added value from its natural resources.
African private sector actors are invited to develop partnerships among themselves for better integration of economies. This is the meaning of the signing, on March 21, 2018 in Kigali, of the Agreement Establishing the Continental African Free Trade Area (ZLECA). The protocol was signed by 44 countries. But Africa must initiate a structural change by addressing five major challenges, according to the head of the Ivorian government. Gon Coulibaly focused on diversifying economies and improving the business climate, infrastructure, regional integration and education. Including that of girls.
OSSENE OUATTARA