Côte d'Ivoire Business and Investment Forum

During the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Week, the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) and the Government of Côte d'Ivoire co-hosted the Côte d'Ivoire Business and Investment Forum. Sponsored by ABD Group and Cybastion, the forum highlighted investment opportunities under the country's 2026-2030 National Development Plan. CCA President and CEO Florie Liser opened the forum, followed by remarks from Frank Garcia, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Nialé Kaba, Côte d'Ivoire's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Other speakers included Souleymane Diarrassouba, Minister of Planning and Development, Faman Touré, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Côte d'Ivoire, Caitlin Burton of Zipline, John Nevergole of ABD Group, Fran Katsoudas of Cisco and Thierry Wandji of Cybastion, with CCA Board Chair John Olajide also in attendance.

Ms. Liser noted that the National Development Plan aims to make Côte d'Ivoire an upper-middle income country by 2035 and has already drawn about $80 billion in commitments, while Minister Diarrassouba highlighted its goal of creating more than 3 million formal jobs by 2030. Mr. Garcia described Côte d'Ivoire as an economic engine of West Africa with annual growth above 6%, and company speakers shared their work there, including ABD Group's 62 completed health facilities and one of the country's largest data centers, developed by Cybastion with Cisco. The forum featured two signings. CCA and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Côte d'Ivoire signed a partnership to strengthen business ties between Côte d'Ivoire and the United States, and the Ivorian government and Zipline signed a joint declaration to expand Zipline's medical delivery network nationwide to more than 2,200 health facilities serving over 12 million people. The forum closed with the announcement that Côte d'Ivoire will host CCA's 2027 U.S.-Africa Business Summit.

Click here for photos from UNGA 2026.