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Kenya and Côte d&#8217;Ivoire joined global economies such as China and India in the top five markets with the greatest potential for future trade growth according to the latest standard chartered trade 20 index. Regional Head of Commercial Banking in Africa &amp; Middle East, Ad Ganesh joins CNBC Africa for more on the trade index.</p>


Stanchart Index lists Kenya as top emerging trade partner in Africa

StanChart Index lists Kenya as top emerging trade partner in Africa

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The inability to link Ivorian cocoa to the farmers raises questions on the sustainability of Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa sector. That’s according to Edward George an Independent Commodities expert. George notes that at least 3 quarters of Ivorian cocoa production is not traced back to its source but adds that new technology can make it possible to digitally connect the farmer to the value chain. He joins CNBC Africa to discuss how technology is helping to improve cocoa production in Cote d’Ivoire.</p>


How can technology improve Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa production?

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Earlier this week, Cote d&#8217;Ivoire confirmed to have in quarantine what is being suspected to be the first Coronavirus case in Africa. The spread of the virus has prompted proactive measures from African governments. CNBC Africa’s Arnold Kwizera spoke to Dr. Jose Nyamusore from the Rwanda Biomedical Center for more.</p>


How Rwanda plans to deal with Coronavirus outbreak

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<p>The BRVM Composite is down over 5 per cent this year while the BRVM 10 index is down over 6 per cent year-to-date. Myriam Ouattara, Portfolio Manager at EDC Aset Management joins CNBC Africa to discuss trends likely to shape activities in bourse this year.</p>


BRVM composite down over 5% YTD

BRVM composite down over 5% YTD, expected to remain bearish for the year

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<p>The World Bank is projecting a 7 per cent economic growth for Cote d’Ivoire this year. Meanwhile, the world’s largest cocoa producer will hold its Presidential election this year. Ayalanesh Tafesse, Country Risk Analyst at RMB joins CNBC Africa for an outlook on Cote d’Ivoire’s economy.</p>


RMB’s economic outlook for Cote d’Ivoire ahead of polls


<p>By  <em>George Ott, Economist</em>, NKC African Economics  </p>



<p>On December 21, Côte d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara announced that the eight member states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (Waemu) and France had agreed to rename the CFA franc and implement a range of reforms to the long-standing regional currency.</p>



<p>Although talk of change had been in the air, the December announcement came as somewhat of a surprise, certainly to some others in the region.</p>



<p>The
formation of an independent monetary union and the adoption of a regional
currency has been a long-term goal for the broader 15-member Economic Community
of West African States (Ecowas), of which all the Waemu states are members.
Ecowas leaders met as recently as June 2019 and agreed to adopt a common
regional currency, to be called the ‘eco’, as early as 2020. </p>



<p>However,
with manifold challenges facing this project, the Waemu states appear to feel
they were already in a position to get the reform ball rolling, ostensibly with
the goal of facilitating the eventual formation of an Ecowas regional monetary
union.</p>



<p>Aside
from the broader Ecowas debate, the reforms announced in December to be
implemented on the West African CFA franc include: renaming the CFA franc the
eco; scrapping the obligation requiring Waemu members to keep 50% of their
foreign reserves at the French central bank; and the withdrawal of all French
representatives from decision-making and management bodies of the West African
Monetary Union (comprising the same eight Waemu member countries). </p>



<p>Significantly,
however, the eco will remain pegged to the euro and the Banque de France will
continue to guarantee the convertibility of the currency.</p>



<p>Although
these reforms represent the most substantial changes in the more than
seven-decade history of the CFA franc, it nevertheless received a mixed
reception. </p>



<p>While
some commentators hailed the move as a significant breakaway from French
involvement and a step towards monetary independence, others pointed out that
the move was largely symbolic and the reforms ‘cosmetic’, as the maintenance of
the euro peg will continue to dictate the scope of regional monetary policy
decisions.</p>



<p>Another
significant challenge facing the eco lies in the Waemu member states satisfying
the convergence criteria for the adoption of the new common currency. </p>



<p>Key
criteria are: maintaining a budget deficit of less than 3% of GDP; public debt
ratio of less than 70% of GDP; annual inflation rate of less than 10%; and, maintaining
a minimum of three months of import cover. Currently, it appears unlikely that
the majority of the Waemu countries will meet all these criteria by the very
ambitious inception date of July 2020.</p>



<p>Regional
giants and fellow Ecowas members Nigeria and Ghana have also weighed in on the
developments, adopting somewhat contrasting positions. </p>



<p>While
Ghana came out strongly in favour of the eco and the formation of a broader
regional monetary union (although not in favour of the euro peg but rather a
floating exchange rate), Nigeria has taken a more cautious approach in first
considering its official response.</p>



<p>With
anti-colonial sentiment growing in the region, this move is perhaps mostly
symbolic at this stage, and is to the political benefit of Mr Ouattara and
France’s President Emmanuel Macron. However, this does not mean that it is not
significant. </p>



<p>The
long-standing Ecowas goal of establishing an independent, regional monetary
union with a single currency remains in the minds of many in the region, and
the decision by the Waemu to make the first move may yet prove to be a valuable
viability test for this ideal. </p>



<p>Yet, in the meantime, with the maintenance of the euro peg, the reforms are not expected to have much of an impact on the currency, at least not in the short- to medium term. Moreover, the goal of officially moving to the eco by mid-2020 may prove to be overly ambitious.</p>


Westafrica_Wikimedia

Op-Ed: From CFA franc to ‘eco’, what you need to know about West Africa’s new currency

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<p>Cote d&#8217;Ivoire and Ghana plan to re-examine the Cocoa industry’s sustainability schemes. To discuss this and more stories impacting the global cocoa market, Independent Commodities Expert, Edward George joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Understanding how cocoa industry influences the global market

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<p>Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) Composite Index declined by 9 per cent in the third quarter of the year. From Cote d&#8217;Ivoire – to review the BRVM&#8217;s performance and the outlook for the last quarter of the year, Portfolio Manager at EDC Asset Management, Myriam Ouattara joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


BRVM composite index down in Q3


<p>JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; MTN Group Ltd said on Tuesday the chief executive officers of its Zambian and Cote d’Ivoire units would step down at the end of the month.</p>



<p>Africa’s largest mobile phone operator said Zambia’s Philip van Dalsen, who joined MTN in 2012 as CEO of MTN Cyprus, would be replaced by MTN Rwanda CEO Bart Hofker, in October.</p>



<p>Mitwa Kaemba Ng’ambi has been appointed as the new CEO of MTN Rwanda.</p>



<p>The firm said Freddy Tchala, its Cote d’Ivoire CEO, who had a 17-year stint at the firm, would also be leaving at the end of September with his replacement still to be announced.</p>



<p>Spokeswoman Karen Byamugisha said van Dalsen and Tchala are both stepping down due to personal reasons.</p>



<p>MTN has a presence in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East.</p>



<p>Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; editing by Jason Neely</p>


CEOs of MTN’s Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire units are stepping down

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<p>One of the many challenges to increase tourism is that of infrastructure. CNBC Africa’s Chris Bishop spoke to Donald Djobo, General Manager and Founder, myGO Worldwide – from Cote D’Ivoire about the challenges of infrastructure in West Africa.</p>


Addressing infrastructure challenges in West Africa to grow tourism

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<p>The CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board (GCB) says Ghana and Cote d&#8217;Ivoire have agreed to set up a stabilisation fund under its new pricing mechanism for cocoa beans to support farmers should producer prices drop on the international markets. Edward George, Independent Commodities Expert joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


West Africa cocoa outlook


<p>(Reuters) &#8211; South African mobile phone operator Vodacom Group Ltd on Friday said it has entered an agreement to sell its Business Africa unit’s Angolan operations and assets to Internet Technologies Angola for an undisclosed amount.</p>



<p>Separately, Vodacom, which is majority owned by Vodafone Group Plc, also announced an agreement to sell the unit’s operations in Nigeria, Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire to Synergy Communications.</p>



<p>Vodacom said it will no longer service enterprise customers directly in any of the four markets but will continue to service clients through local service providers.</p>



<p>Reporting by Shariq Khan in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich</p>



<p></p>


Vodacom unit plans to sell operations in four African markets, what you need to know

<p>ABIDJAN (Reuters) &#8211; Consumer price inflation in Ivory Coast rose to 0.8 percent year-on-year in October, up from 0.5 percent in September, data from the National Statistics Institute showed on Monday.</p>
<p>Food and soft drink prices in the world’s top cocoa producer rose 0.5 percent year-on-year, while housing and utilities prices jumped 3.1 percent. Transport costs rose 1.2 percent.</p>
<p>Ivory Coast’s economy accounts for around 40 percent of the eight-nation West African CFA franc currency zone.</p>
<p>Reporting By Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Aaron Ross and Matthew Mpoke Bigg</p>


This West African country’s inflation has rose to 0.8 percent year-on-year in October

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<p>Cote d’Ivoire has issued cocoa export licenses to 68 companies and cooperatives, but one of the country&#8217;s largest exporters of the commodity is missing from this list. Edward George, Head of Group Research at EcoBank joins CNBC Africa to discuss the cocoa industry in Cote d&#8217;Ivoire.</p>


Cote d’Ivoire issues 68 cocoa export licenses

<p>By Francois Conradie, Head of Research at NKC African Economics</p>
<p>On August 9, Henri Konan Bedie’s Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) formally announced that it had rejected the idea of joining the Houphoetist Rally for Democracy and Progress (RHDP): a big-tent party that President Alassane Ouattara has formed to replace a looser coalition of the same name and with which to contest upcoming regional and municipal elections on October 13 and the crucial presidential election in 2020.</p>
<p>The statement was issued the day after a meeting between Mr Bédié and Mr Ouattara at the president’s residence. In it, the PDCI left the door open to alliances with other parties. It read, in part: “[the PDCI] reserves the right to promote a platform of collaboration with Ivorians who share its vision of a reconciled Ivory Coast which is concerned with the rights, freedoms and well-being of its population”.</p>
<p>In practice, the only Ivorians with which a political alliance would have any substance are those of the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI).</p>
<p>The FPI is split in two, between a harder wing which recently re-elected former President Laurent Gbagbo as its chairman and a more moderate wing under Pascal Affi N’Guessan. On Friday Mr Bédié received Mr Affi N’Guessan at his Abidjan home.</p>
<p>Mr Bédié said afterwards that “nothing prevents that… the PDCI and FPI find themselves together,” while Mr Affi N’Guessan said that the FPI “reaffirms our availability to take part in the creation of a new platform.” Even a spokesman for the Gbagbo wing of the FPI, César Etou, told reporters that his organisation was “not closed to a rapprochement with the PDCI”.</p>
<p>These are remarkable words, given the history of the parties. The PDCI is the former sole party of President Felix Houphouet-Boigny (president from 1960 to 1993) and Mr Bédié (president from 1993 to 1999) under which the FPI was banned and Mr Gbagbo jailed. But relations between Mr Bédié and Mr Ouattara are frosty and getting frostier.</p>
<p>We had been expecting Mr Bédié to definitively reject the RHDP idea since June, when the PDCI’s political office rejected the unified party idea. That development followed an interview Mr Ouattara gave to Jeune Afrique earlier in that month in which he said that he had “never promised [Mr Bédié] anything”. We believe that he did, in fact, promise Mr Bédié in 2015 that his Rally for the Republicans (RDR) would support someone from the PDCI in the 2020 election if the PDCI backed him in his second run in 2015.</p>
<p>The betrayal of that promise stung and made it impossible for Mr Bédié to swallow his pride and fold his party into the RHDP.</p>
<p>On August 6, two days before he met Mr Bédié, Mr Ouattara announced the pardon of 800 people jailed for various offences. The two most high-profile of these are Simone Gbagbo, the former first lady who had been jailed for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the 2011 post-election conflict that opposed Mr Gbagbo and Mr Ouattara, and Kamagate Souleymane, a former comzone or zone commander during that conflict who had been jailed after a cache of military-grade weapons was discovered at his house.</p>
<p>Ms Gbagbo, since her release, has been feted in FPI circles in Abidjan. As for Mr Souleymane, he is close to National Assembly Speaker Guillaume Soro – another key Ouattara ally during the 2011 conflict – and it may be that his release is part of negotiations between the president and Mr Soro about support going forward.</p>
<p>Now Mr Ouattara will be seeking to coax PDCI members over to his RHDP, while the PDCI and FPI leaders will seek to find common ground. Announcements of new partnerships will come thick and fast as the October elections approach, and we expect that questions of ethnicity will re-emerge as Mr Ouattara’s political opponents seek to make his Burkinabe heritage an issue (as it was when Mr Bédié barred him from running in the 1995 presidential race for not being Ivorian enough).</p>
<p>Increased volatility and more opposition energy in the next two years is expected, but the RHDP should continue to dominate the landscape and its candidate (likely Mr Ouattara himself) should be the favourite in 2020. A wildcard is Mr Gbagbo, whose trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) is going nowhere. If he is released, the picture will become messier still.</p>


OpEd: Here’s why the Ivory Coast is shifting alliances

<p>ABIDJAN (Reuters) &#8211; Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara dissolved the government on Wednesday, according to a statement from the presidency, amid tensions with his party’s partner in the governing coalition.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly was re-appointed to form a new government. The rest of the government, including the key posts of finance and defence minister, remains vacant.</p>
<p>Ivorian politics is historically volatile, marked by conflicts over land and ethnicity. The country was divided for nearly a decade between a government-controlled south and rebel-held north. A dispute over Ouattara’s first election victory in 2010 led to a civil war that killed some 3,000 people.</p>
<p>Political tensions are rising again before a 2020 election. Constitutional term limits appear to prevent Ouattara from standing for a third term, but he said last month that he is free to run again under a new constitution approved in 2016.</p>
<p>Ouattara won a run-off in 2010 and re-election in 2015, thanks partly to the backing of former President Henri Konan Bedie’s PDCI party, whose members serve in the government.</p>
<p>But the two sides have fallen out over the PDCI’s insistence that Ouattara back a candidate of its choosing in 2020. The PDCI last month rejected the idea of a joint ticket, after Ouattara’s RDR party refused to allow the PDCI to choose the candidate.</p>
<p>Julien Kouao, an Ivorian political analyst, said Ouattara was trying to consolidate his position within his own RDR party as the RDR and PDCI move toward fielding separate candidates.</p>


President Ouattara dissolves Ivory Coast’s government, what you need to know

<p>UPDATE 1-Ivory Coast&#8217;s ICP to ramp up cocoa grinding at two plants</p>
<p>ABIDJAN, June 22 (Reuters) &#8211; Ivory Cocoa Products (ICP) and Eurofind Group plan to begin cocoa grinding at a new 32,000 tonne plant near Ivory Coast’s main city of Abidjan by 2019, with capacity doubling by 2021, ICP’s Managing Director Ismael Al Khalil told Reuters on Friday.</p>
<p>ICP also plans to increase grinding capacity at an existing factory in the southern port city of San Pedro from the current 50,000 tonnes to 75,000 tonnes by 2021, Al Khalil said.</p>
<p>The expansion will make ICP the fourth-largest grinder in Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, behind Barry Callebaut, Olam and Cargill.</p>
<p>The new plant will mostly produce cocoa butter and cake. By increasing its capacity, it expects to receive tax benefits offered by the government for any increase in capacity, Al Khalil said.</p>
<p>All output from the new plant will be sold to Theobroma, a unit of Swiss-based Ecom Trading.</p>
<p>Ivory Coast is aiming to process domestically half of its cocoa bean production by 2020 in a bid to boost the value of its exports and protect its economy from the volatility of global commodity markets. (Reporting By Ange Aboa; Writing by Aaron Ross; editing by David Evans)</p>


Cote D’Ivoire

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Understanding how cocoa industry influences the global market

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West Africa cocoa outlook

Vodacom unit plans to sell operations in four African markets, what you need to know

This West African country’s inflation has rose to 0.8 percent year-on-year in October

Cote d’Ivoire issues 68 cocoa export licenses

OpEd: Here’s why the Ivory Coast is shifting alliances

President Ouattara dissolves Ivory Coast’s government, what you need to know

How increasing the capacity of cocoa production will benefit Ivory Coast’s economy

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Cote D’Ivoire

StanChart Index lists Kenya as top emerging trade partner in Africa

How can technology improve Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa production?

How Rwanda plans to deal with Coronavirus outbreak

BRVM composite down over 5% YTD, expected to remain bearish for the year

RMB’s economic outlook for Cote d’Ivoire ahead of polls

Op-Ed: From CFA franc to ‘eco’, what you need to know about West Africa’s new currency

Understanding how cocoa industry influences the global market

BRVM composite index down in Q3

CEOs of MTN’s Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire units are stepping down

Addressing infrastructure challenges in West Africa to grow tourism

West Africa cocoa outlook

Vodacom unit plans to sell operations in four African markets, what you need to know

This West African country’s inflation has rose to 0.8 percent year-on-year in October

Cote d’Ivoire issues 68 cocoa export licenses

OpEd: Here’s why the Ivory Coast is shifting alliances

President Ouattara dissolves Ivory Coast’s government, what you need to know

How increasing the capacity of cocoa production will benefit Ivory Coast’s economy

News Tips

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