Event Report: Côte d'Ivoire Business Seminar

UNIDO ITPO Tokyo will jointly organized a seminar with the Embassy of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to promote business and investment in Japan and Côte d’Ivoire.

The seminar opened with the remarks from the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to Japan. Following the remarks, the Director General of the Centre de Promotion des Investissements en Côte d’Ivoire (CEPICI) introduced the latest investment climate and business opportunities in Côte d’Ivoire. The seminar then received the speakers from Union of Big Companies of Côte d’Ivoire (UGECI) and JETRO Abidjan Office to provide experience and perspectives of the business situation on the ground. During the Q&A session, several questions from the audience regarding the business environment of the Côte d’Ivoire　were answered by the speakers.

Outline

Date:	Thursday, 16 June, 2022
Time:	17:00 – 18:30 (JST)/ 9:00 – 10:30 (UTC+1)
Organizers:	UNIDO ITPO Tokyo, Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon
Language:	Japanese/English/French (Simultaneous interpretation)
Registration fee:	Free of charge

Programme

17:30/8:30 (JST/UTC)	Opening Remarks	“Opening Remarks” H.E. Mr. Jérôme Klôh WEYA Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to Japan
17:35/8:35	Opening Remarks	H.E. Mr. Katsuya IKKATAI Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Côte d’Ivoire
17:40/8:40	Keynote Presentation	“Business Environment and Investment Framework in Côte d’Ivoire” Ms. Solange AMICHIA Director General, the Investment Promotion Center of Côte d’Ivoire (CEPICI)
18:00/9:00	Presentation	“Côte d’Ivoire – Japan Business Webinar” Ms. Rose DON MELLO Executive Director, Union of Big Companies of Côte d’Ivoire (UGECI)
18:10/9:10	Presentation	“The Latest Information on Political/Economic Situation of Côte d’Ivoire” Mr. Daisuke MIZUNO Director general, JETRO Abidjan Office
18:20/9:20	Introduction of programme	“Africa Advisory Programme” Ms. Aïssatou NDIAYE UNIDO ITPO Tokyo
18:25/9:25	Q&A
18:55/9:55	Closing Remarks	“UNIDO’s Programme for Country Partnerships in Côte d’Ivoire: Opportunities for Japanese Companies and Institutions” Mr. Tidiane BOYE UNIDO Representative in Côte d’Ivoire and Togo

Biography of Speakers

	Ms. Solange AMICHIA Director General, the Investment Promotion Center of Côte d’Ivoire (CEPICI) Appointed on 08 September 2021, by decree signed by the President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, Solange AMICHIA is the CEO of the Investment Promotion Centre in Côte d’Ivoire. She was Deputy CEO of this organisation since February 2014. Before joining CEPICI, Solange AMICHIA spent most of her professional career abroad, in France and in the United States. She was Senior Vice President in the Investment Bank of Société Générale (SGCIB) in New York until 2013, and has more than twenty years of experience in the investment banking industry. A bilingual French-English professional, she graduated from the E.D.C Business School in Paris in 1983, with a specialization in SME management. She also holds several certificates in Finance, Professional Project Management (PMP) and Information System Design. She is an expert in project management, information system design, capital market products and investment promotion, with a focus on results and performance. She has a thorough understanding of the challenges of the private sector. Since 2016, she has coordinated the organisation of several fora and summits in Cote d’Ivoire on behalf of the Presidency of the Republic of Cot d’Ivoire. Under her auspices, the Africa CEO Forum, the Mo Ibrahim Governance weekend, the regional Women Entrepreneur & Finance Initiative (We-Fi) Summit and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) Congress were held. Since 2019, she is the Special Advisor to the President of the Regional Council of Agnéby-Tiassa, in charge of economic projects. Her mission is to promote the “Agnéby-Tiassa” destination, manage the project portfolio and develop the human capital of the AGNÉBY-TIASSA region. She is Vice President of the DELAYAM Institute, a foundation for active citizenship. She is committed to a more sustained involvement of the citizen through different programmes such as the patronage of competence, star classes of excellence, the creation of an Observatory of citizenship and public action and a platform of exchanges to bring the public authorities closer to the citizens. The foundation wants to be a power of proposal. She is passionate about the environment and sustainable development. She loves travelling and the culinary discoveries of countries; she is also passionate about African art and agriculture.
	Ms. Rose DON MELLO Executive Director, Union of Big Companies of Côte d’Ivoire (UGECI) Mrs. DON-MELLO Rose has 35 years of professional experience in blue chip companies, including 15 years as Executive Director of UGECI, a manufacturer Employer’s Association in Côte d’Ivoire. UGECI comprises 29 top rank large scale manufacturing companies operating in different fields of the industry: cement, agro-industry, packaging, steelworks, beverages, textile, breweries etc… Those leading companies provide 45.000 direct employment and total a turnover of 4 million USD. Mrs DON-MELLO Rose graduated from a top business school in Abidjan (Ecole Supérieure de Commerce Abidjan) and started her professional career in Audit and Accounting. Then, she moved to an Advertising Company as Chief publicist for 4 years. In 1992, she joined The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) as the Regional Marketing Manager for West & Central Africa Region. In 1996, she joined another multinational, NESTLE, where she operated as a Regional Group Brand Manager for West & Central Africa, in charge of Beverages and Sugar Confectionary. In 2000, she moved to Standard Chartered Bank, which had recently branched in Cote d’Ivoire, as Head of Consumer Banking Division where she ran the agency network of the bank and the customer portfolio of private clients and small and medium-sized businesses. After 3 years, she decided to work as a self- entreprene ur setting up a company in the fishing industry. Coopted by her peers, she also chaired the Union of Fishing Shipowners. The experience acquired in defending the interests of several companies naturally led her to accept, in September 2007, the position of Executive Director at UGECI, the Employer’s Association of Large scales manufacturing Industries in Cote d’Ivoire (UGECI). As the Executive Director of this Employer’s Association, she deals with the Ivorian Authorities and International Donors on all issues that could impact the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector such as legal, tax and labor related issues, international trade, industrial infrastructure, environmental issues etc… In 2013, she was awarded as the best Manager of Professional Organizations granted by the Ivorian Employer’s Association and in 2022 as Officer of the National Grade for her contribution to the development of Private Sector.
	Mr. Daisuke MIZUNO Director general, JETRO Abidjan Office In 1993, he joined the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). He has worked in the Planning Department, Business Development and Human Resources Support Department, as well as in the JETRO’s Domestic Offices: Aomori, Gifu, and Okinawa (as General Director/Representative). He has been stationed in French-speaking countries for a long time: 1998 – Director of Brussels Office, Belgium; 2013 – Deputy General Director of Paris Office, France; 2014 – He opened the Rabat Office, Morocco, and served as General Director/Representative; 2021 – General Director/Representative of Abidjan Office, Cote d’Ivoire.