Category Archives: Economics

BRVM update 2015

Posted on December 16, 2015 by admin

As is the tradition (though one that’s about to end) the end of the year at Drogba’s Country is the moment for an update on the West African Stock Exchange (BRVM), based in Abidjan. As a recap, I started investing … Continue reading →

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A booming Ivory Coast

Posted on September 27, 2015 by admin

Exactly a month ahead of presidential elections on Friday, Reuters published a glowing tribute to the Ivory Coast boom. On the same day they also published a story on the start of work on a brand new Heineken beer factory in … Continue reading →

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Abidjan’s ‘Club Croissances’ calls it a day

Posted on September 26, 2015 by admin

Let me tell you a story that goes back to the early days of blogging in Cote d’Ivoire. One of the pioneer blogs focused on business stories linked to the West African Stock Exchange or BRVM. The blog was the initiative of a … Continue reading →

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Promoting investment

Posted on September 20, 2015 by admin

On a flight back to West Africa yesterday I picked up a free copy of ‘The Africa Report’ magazine, and was interested to read a two page advert taken out by the Centre for Promoting Investments in Cote d’Ivoire(CEPICI). These … Continue reading →

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Ivory Coast in the rankings

Posted on June 20, 2015 by admin

At the start of the Ouattara presidency, blogger Hotel Ivory said that the various global rankings would be a good way to measure the success or failure of the new government. So with the election now just four months off, how … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics | 2 Comments

Latest IMF publications on Cote d’Ivoire – facts and figures

Posted on June 14, 2015 by admin

The publication of IMF country reports on Cote d’Ivoire is just about the only time of the year when you can really get hold of decent statistics and information on the performance of the Ivorian economy, and government economic management. … Continue reading →

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Electricity hikes

Posted on May 26, 2015 by admin

The announcement of an electricity bill increase last week by President Ouattara during a visit to Odienne in the far north-west quickly provoked a strong reaction on social media. Beyond the fact that no-one likes to see their utility bills … Continue reading →

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The Moroccan takeover

Posted on May 10, 2015 by admin

For Ivory Coast watchers it’s been a busy week in the international media, what with Chelsea and Drogba securing the Premier League title, an Ivorian boy caught being smuggled into Spain in a suitcase, the continued rumblings over the disappeared football … Continue reading →

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Deja vu: And if the cocoa price dropped?

Posted on April 4, 2015 by admin

A thumb sketch of Ivorian economic history from independence goes like this: a major cocoa farmer becomes president, encourages the development of the sector by opening up new land and encouraging farmers to cut down the forests to become productive. … Continue reading →

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Back home

Posted on March 17, 2015 by admin

Over the last week back in Abidjan, I had the pleasure of living again in the house we bought in 2010. Previously we’d been hiring a small studio for my wife to sit-out the Ebola crisis with our new baby, … Continue reading →

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