Cashew & Cocoa Value-Added Processing Unit at PK-24 PEIA Industrial Zone, Abidjan

Côte d'Ivoire remains West Africa's largest economy and one of its fastest-growing, posting 6.1% GDP growth in 2024 with a projected 6.3% average for 2025–2026, well above the continental average. FDI hit an all-time high of USD 3.8 billion in 2024, and CEPICI recorded a 9.6% rise in approved private investment in 2025 to $1.45 billion, driven by agri-processing, SMEs in raw-material transformation, and digital services. The government's incoming 2025–2030 National Development Plan (PND) targets 72% private-sector financing and a structural shift from commodity exports to domestic value-added processing, aiming to handle at least 50% of raw exports locally. Three catalysts are reshaping the investment landscape right now: (1) the February 2025 regulatory bill formalising industrial zones including the PEIA platform at PK-24, (2) the MCC Regional Energy Compact signed in 2025 unlocking hundreds of millions in grid and renewable expansion, and (3) a December 2025 Finance Act extending tax incentives for digital start-ups. The CFA franc's Euro peg provides currency stability, Fitch upgraded the country to BB stable, and the EU's active Economic Partnership Agreement (since 2019) provides duty-free access to European markets for processed Ivorian goods.

In February 2025, the government introduced a bill establishing formal regulations for industrial zones, and the Cotton and Cashew Council transferred management of three cashew agro-industrial zones to SOGEDI, directly opening plug-and-play processing slots. The state's 2030 target to process 50% of raw commodity exports domestically — versus the current 10% — creates a structural demand pull that no private processing competitor has yet fully captured.

Market drivers:

- Government 2030 target to raise domestic processing of raw agricultural exports from 10% to 50%, with active FDI incentives including customs duty waivers on processing machinery

- EU Economic Partnership Agreement provides duty-free access for processed Ivorian goods to European markets, boosting export margin versus raw commodity

- West African food processing industry projected to reach USD 100 billion; Côte d'Ivoire is the world's leading cashew and cocoa producer with under-utilised processing capacity

Risks:

- Concentration risk: cocoa price volatility and EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) compliance requirements could disrupt raw material supply chains

- Land tenure and contract enforcement remain weak; judicial rulings can favour entrenched local interests over foreign investors