Abidjan: "Babi", the bridgehead of the Ivorian economy

Welcome back to Côte d'Ivoire's favourite 'Babi'. This affectionate nickname given to Abidjan, the city on the banks of the Ebrié Lagoon, has become the symbol of a resurgent metropolisIt's a city that's vibrant with the incessant activity of its almost eight million inhabitants. It's a place for those who have been fulfilled by development as well as for those who have been left behind, where expatriates and Ivorians returning home, their heads full of entrepreneurial dreams, cross paths in a continual cross-fertilisation.

After a decade of political turmoil, the city that used to be known as the "Paris of West Africa" has bounced back well since 2011, determined to play to its strengths in a fast-expanding region. With strong industrialisation, galloping urbanisation, the presence of major international banks, as well as the BRVM - the regional stock exchange - and the headquarters of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Abidjan, West Africa's leading deep-water port, is on all fronts to achieve its ambition to remain and continue to be a major player in the global economy. the region's main business centre.

First success: tourism. The country is repositioning itself as Africa's third-largest business destinationafter the Nigeria and the Morocco. Côte d'Ivoire has been attracting a growing number of travellers since 2014. The sector contributed more than 7.5 % of GDP in 2016, and is expected to continue its healthy growth over the next few years. Hotel capacity in the country's two major cities - Abidjan, its main gateway, and Yamoussoukro, its capital - is estimated at more than 3,500 rooms (3 stars and above), but is expected to double in size by 2025. New hotel projects - Sheraton, Ritz Carlton, Novotel among others - are currently underway in Abidjan.

To channel investment into the sector, the Ministry of Tourism has announced the creation of two funds, including a sovereign fund that will act as a guarantee for loans or borrowings for tourism infrastructure projects. Abidjan has already won a first prize: the organisation, in November 2017, of the fifth African Union-European Union summit. Over 80 heads of state and government and more than 5,000 participants took part, all staying in the city's hotel complexes.

After all, it's no secret that beyond its bridgehead, Abidjan, an emerging African powerhouse with a population of over 20 million lies in wait for the business visitor. Côte d'Ivoire, the world's leading producer of cocoa and seventh largest producer of coffee, has benefited since 2012 fromremarkably stable growth, above 7 %. Observers and investors are impressed by this regularity. The stock of French investment in the country increased by 50 % per year between 2011 and 2015, while France, the country's second largest supplier, has around a hundred companies established in Côte d'Ivoire.

The international institutions are not mistaken. The country that was 167^e in the World Bank's "Doing Business" ranking in 2012 has risen steadily to 139th place this year.^e place, in particular because of serious progress in obtaining building permits. In previous years, the government has focused on improving the pillars of governance and transparency, including strengthening legislation on business contracts and company liquidations. A government programme is underway to digitise customs procedures for import-export and bring them together in a one-stop shop.

Faced with this progress, funding agencies are equally optimists. France has pledged two billion euros in loans at preferential rates, in particular to finance the Abidjan metro. For its part, the United States has granted $500 million in aid to help combat poverty and stimulate growth. Côte d'Ivoire has also easily raised $1.25 billion and €625 million in Eurobonds. And the IMF is continuing to disburse in tranches the $899.2 million earmarked for its credit programmes.

But the upturn is not without clouds. The country is heavily dependent on cocoa, an industry that supports six million people. The speculative fall in cocoa prices since 2016 has caused growers to cringe, as guaranteed prices have fallen. On the scale of the Ivorian economy, the shock has been harsh, especially as it has been accompanied by a certain amount of discontent among civil servants and mutinies in the army. An atmosphere of rebellion that ultimately weighed on the State's accounts.

Abidjan at the crossroads

In a recent report on the Ivorian economy, "At the gates of paradise", the World Bank notes that ".the government has had to take into account the additional expenditure granted to meet the demands of certain groups in the army and the public sector". As a result, the budget deficit increased slightly to 4.7 % of GDP. Fortunately, the country also enjoyed very good harvests and saw the value of its agricultural exports increase, thanks to rising prices for several raw materials on international markets.

The country is now at a crossroads between underdevelopment and true economic emergence. Moving forward will not be easy. Over 45% of Ivorians still live below the poverty line and there are a crucial skills deficitThis is the implacable consequence of years of crisis and the abandonment of the education system. An entire generation has risen up on its own, even inventing "nouchi" on the streets of Abidjan, a colloquial language derived from French and other languages used in the country.

To prepare for the future, the World Bank suggests accelerating economic transformation by focusing on new technologies through foreign direct investment, which can encourage technology transfer. Côte d'Ivoire is seeking to increase its attractiveness and has already committed to a national fibre optics projectThis project, led by Bouygues, SagemCom and Cegelec Morocco, aims to roll out a 7,000 km fibre network. A national innovation fund has also been set up to support the digitisation of the private sector.

On the banks of the Abidjan lagoon, in one of the maquis, the small open-air bars and restaurants where the people of Babi like to meet for a drink, all these projects still seem a long way off. The city is an astonishing contradiction between powerful economic interests and the stubborn search for an original African cultural identity. On the one hand, the emblematic buildings of the Plateau, the imposing business district, sometimes referred to as the "business district". "African Manhattan On the one hand, there are the wealthy villas behind their secure walls in the upmarket districts of Marcoury or Ile Boulay; on the other, the hovels of the working-class districts; and in between, those spaces where anything is still possible for young entrepreneurs, artists or developers. Babi in all its simplicity.