n this interview with the Government Information and Communication Centre (CICG), the Director General of the Investment Promotion Centre in Côte d’Ivoire (CEPICI), Solange Amichia, discusses the important reforms undertaken by her organization to improve the business environment.
Tell us about CEPICI
CEPICI is the Investment Promotion Center in Côte d’Ivoire. It was created on September 29, 1993 by decree No. 93-774. With its evolution into a Single Window for Investment, responsible for coordinating all public actions in favor of private investment on September 6, 2012 by decree No. 2012-867, it is the point of entry for all investors, both national and international, and the strategic interface between the State, the private sector and project promoters.
Our responsibility is to intervene across the entire investment value chain: from identifying opportunities to project implementation, including reforms, facilitation, incentives, and investor support. It is this approach that makes CEPICI a true facilitator of investment today.
But today, the role of CEPICI goes far beyond promoting investments.
In an increasingly competitive international environment, where capital is becoming more and more selective, we must be able not only to attract investors, but also to offer them a clear environment, credible projects, personalized support and responsive administration.
It is within this dynamic that we have undertaken the reform of CEPICI.
Our new economic model aims to strengthen our role as a driver of private investment by developing five key areas. These include strengthening our promotion and facilitation missions; building a truly business-oriented Côte d’Ivoire brand; fully digitizing our services; developing our human and technical capacities; and implementing even more open and effective governance.
This transformation reflects a strong conviction: to evolve CEPICI from a one-stop shop to a true investment development agency.
A modern, agile and results-oriented institution, capable not only of attracting more capital, but above all of transforming national priorities into investment projects that create value, jobs and sustainable growth.
What is the current timeframe for setting up a business with CEPICI?
The Single Business Formalities Window allows users to complete all their administrative procedures for setting up their business in one place.
As a result of the work we have carried out to improve IT connectivity and internet services, interoperability between the platforms of CEPICI and partners of the Commercial Court, the DGI (General Directorate of Taxes) and the CNPS (National Social Security Fund), the optimization of the CEPICI platform, the deployment of a monitoring tool, creation times have been significantly reduced by 83% between the first halves of 2025 and 2026.
We are pleased to announce that, as of mid-July 2026, the average online business registration processing time is 2.4 days. This is thanks to the work carried out to retrieve and transmit online over 4,200 RCCMs (Registration Certificates for Business Creation) for users who submitted their applications before May 31, 2026. The trend is downward as we strive to reach our target of 24 hours by the end of 2026.
We are finalizing the complete digitization of the business creation process. Setting up a business often represents an investor’s first contact with a country. Therefore, we have a responsibility to ensure that this initial experience inspires confidence, efficiency, and transparency.
What innovations has CEPICI implemented to improve the business environment?
Improving the business environment is one of CEPICI’s strategic missions. CEPICI coordinates with all national stakeholders from the public and private sectors, as well as technical and financial partners, the development of the 2026-2028 Reform Agenda for improving the business climate. Although this agenda has not yet been adopted by the Council of Ministers, significant progress has been made.
Our first innovation relates to the digitalization and reduction of administrative delays for issuing administrative documents and services, as well as the time required to establish the company.
-This is about starting a business.
-The application process for approval under the Investment Code is also slated to be digitized in the near future. The digitization of applications for business licenses and permits, in conjunction with the relevant ministries, should also be noted.
-This digitalization includes the implementation of an investor tracking tool to manage the investor journey and develop private investment.
The second major innovation concerns the implementation of the Unique Registration Identifier (IDU). This reform will allow for the identification of economic operators with a unique number within their administrative platforms. Work is underway to generalize this reform throughout the country.
But the most significant and recent innovation occurred in March 2026 with the decree establishing the National Committee for Investment and Improvement of the Business Climate (CNICA). This is a powerful governance tool.
For the first time, we have a single body responsible for steering, coordinating, monitoring and evaluating, over time, all of our investment reforms.
This new approach calls for an organization that not only continues to guide reforms structured around the 13 pillars of the National Agenda for Business Climate Reforms, but also integrates a cross-cutting perspective based on the investor’s journey, in order to ensure that all the constraints encountered by the investor are effectively taken into account.
On July 10th in Abidjan, CEPICI launched the Single Window for Private Investment Declarations (GUDIP). What does this tool consist of?
Indeed, on July 10, 2026, CEPICI launched the Single Window for Private Investment Declarations (GUDIP). It should be noted that this launch was carried out in close collaboration with the Directorate General of the Economy, the project owner of the GUDIP, and with financial support from PACA-CI (Business Climate Improvement Program).
The GUDIP is an innovative national private investment management system designed to facilitate the collection, centralization, monitoring, and management of private investments in Côte d’Ivoire. It provides a structural solution to the poor traceability of private investments, characterized by institutional fragmentation of private investment data, incomplete information, and a lack of follow-up on financing agreements.
The GUDIP constitutes a true public governance tool, based on the real-time availability of reliable and up-to-date data enabling the effective monitoring of investment intentions, the identification of potential blockages and the measurement of conversion rates of intentions into traceable actual investments.
It will allow the State to have reliable indicators on investments made, the most dynamic sectors, jobs created, difficulties encountered by investors, as well as projects requiring specific support.
What is the objective of setting up the Women’s Investment Helpdesk (GUIF)?
The Women’s Investment Helpdesk (GUIF) was developed with financial support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), and with technical support from the Women Investment Club (WIC).
GUIF was born from a strong conviction: women are a formidable engine of growth, innovation and wealth creation, but they continue to face specific obstacles to accessing investment opportunities, financing and business networks in the markets.
GUIF was thus designed as a physical and digital one-stop shop, offering tailored support at each stage of the investor’s journey.
It offers personalized assessments, guidance towards the most promising sectors, technical and managerial support, connections with financial partners, and project monitoring from conception to development. Our goal is to make the investment ecosystem more transparent, accessible, and better coordinated for women entrepreneurs.
Beyond individual support, GUIF pursues a broader ambition: to create captains of industry in sectors such as agribusiness, mining, logistics, construction, digital technology and, ultimately, creative industries.
This initiative is fully in line with the priorities of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2026-2030 which makes the private sector an essential driver of industrialization and value creation.
During its pilot phase, it aims to support 1,000 women, including 50 companies that will benefit from an enhanced acceleration program.
Your final word
Côte d’Ivoire is currently at a pivotal moment in its economic history. Over the past decade, our country has profoundly transformed its business environment, modernized its infrastructure, and strengthened its institutional framework.
With the 2026-2030 National Development Plan, we are opening a new stage: that of accelerating industrialization, creating value chains and mobilizing high-impact investments.
Our ambition is to be much more than an investment promotion agency: we want to be a strategic partner for investors, capable of supporting them throughout the life cycle of their projects, from identifying opportunities to their realization and expansion.
Our ambition is not just to attract more capital. It is to build, with our partners, sustainable projects that create value, generate skilled jobs, accelerate the industrialization of our economy and help make Côte d’Ivoire a leading regional platform for investment and innovation in Africa.