ABIDJAN, August 31, 2010—A decade of political deadlock once stalled Cote d’Ivoire’s business climate, sending 35 percent of the country’s private enterprises out of business. Today, this African nation is emerging from crisis and making revitalization of its private sector a key goal, fueling high hopes in the business community.
Business leaders are eager to see Ivorian firms regain their envied position within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), where Cote d’Ivoire once accounted for 40 percent of total economic activity.
Estimates indicate that the Ivorian private sector is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), micro-enterprises and a vast informal sector. Although it is difficult to establish precise figures, SMEs contribute about 18 percent to Côte d’Ivoire’s gross domestic product. They employ up to 23 percent of the country’s formal workforce.
The climate of uncertainty created by the protracted crisis has severely impacted the private sector. Racketeering, for instance, causes annual shortfalls for the national treasury of about US$220 million, according to a recent World Bank study. Furthermore, Cote d’Ivoire occupies an unenviable position in the Doing Business index, which ranks countries around the world on the ease of conducting business. (Cote d’Ivoire ranked 168th out of 183 countries listed in the 2010 survey).
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
