Public investment in the telecommunication sector could see the completion of an extensive (6,700 km) fibre optic network over the next few years and help fulfill the government’s aim of raising internet access to around 20-30% of the population, up from the current penetration rate of about 2%. The first phase of the expansion (a 1,400 km cable from San Pedro in the south west to Ferkessedougou in the central north) began in 2012 and is...

The security situation has improved markedly in Cote D’Ivoire since the political crisis in 2010, which caused the economy to slump into recession in 2011. Greater political stability and an improved security situation have been welcomed by the African Development Bank which is on track to return its regional headquarters to Abidjan in 2014. The government is hopeful that it can maintain stability and reassert the country as a strategic staging...