On Wednesday June 15 2022, Ivorian leaders met with some investors, lenders and development partners in Abidjan as they sought to raise funds in support of Ivory Coast’s recently launched 5-year development plan.
According to Reuters, the meeting was a huge
success, as the investors and partners pledged up to $26.1 billion.
Specifically, the World Bank pledged the
highest amount of $8.7 billion, followed by the European Union with €6 billion and the
African Development Bank (AfDB) with $4.3 billion. Others are France with €4 billion, the Islamic
Development Bank with $2 billion and the West Africa Development Bank with €1 billion.
While
commenting on the positive response to the fundraise, Ivorian Prime Minister
Patrick Achi said he was overwhelmed, adding that the country cannot wait for
the pledges to be honoured.
“The success we’ve seen is
beyond what we expected. We had expected $15 billion in pledges, we have
received $26.1 billion in total,” the Prime Minister said.
Business
Insider Africa understands that Ivory Coast’s 5-year development plan was
launched in 2021 and will run through to 2025. It is estimated to cost about
$94.74 billion, 26% of which would be accounted for by public finance, with the
remaining 74% taken care of by the private sector.
The
funds would be invested towards guaranteeing long-term growth in the West
African country through a number of social and economic transformations. In
specific terms, the funds would be invested towards the following:
Fostering
security
Job
creation
Improving
the quality of life of Ivorians
Transforming
the country into an attractive investment destination
Building
a more efficient and effective public administration
And
human capital development
For the
Ivorian Government, this is the time for concrete sustainable development. The
country is hoping to set an example that can be emulated by others in the
region.
Source:Business Insider Africa