Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire

Abidjan, or "the Paris of Africa" as it was once called. Ten years of civil war and political unrest have unfortunately hampered the incredible rise of this lovely country. But somehow, the private sector did not come to a standstill - a sign of a certain maturity as indicated by Chimere, a Senegalese business man based in Tanzania and working towards "making Africa a better place to do business", who sat next to me on the Nairobi-Abidjan flight yesterday continuing to Dakar. And yet, despite the relocation of certain multinationals and difficulty of local companies to operate successfully given the political climate, the resilience shown by the private sector makes Cote d'Ivoire still the most important economic player of the region, contributing 40% of the UEMOA's GDP (the West African Economic and Monetary Union, with a single currency, the Franc CFA, pegged to the EURO). As the world's biggest cacao producer, with important palm oil and coffee plantations, and recent findings of oil and gas around its shores, Cote d'Ivoire has every thing (and every resource) to make the country a success. And with the date for the presidential elections finally now set for the 31st of October, most analysts believe that the political log will be resolved.

I arrived yesterday, the heat and humidity a surprisingly nice change from Joburg's cold nights and the beginning of my allergies - which go hand in hand with spring time. Driving towards the hotel, I was submerged by the incredible smell of "warme choco" (hot cocoa), which triggered a nice conversation with the hotel shuttle driver, who told me how he received this box of the best chocolates ever - Belgian off course - from this lady who could not find her friend at the airport which made his lucky day. And I remembered the tour I had of the Barry Callebaut factory in 2008 , when I was still a consultant working on a feasibility study in Abidjan.

Dramatic cloudy skies, wind and the occasional downpour of rain are on the menu today. Staying at the Novotel, I just had a lovely breakfast with Nadine, a French girl, who sat at the table next to me. She works for a US company that provides IT solutions to maritime ports, and we were exchanging our notes on how to do business in African countries. She "fled" France and lives in Brussels now, telling me how she was no longer proud of her home country and certain right-wing policies that have culminated now in the expulsion of the Roma with a 60% approval rate by the population. I joked that politics were not necessarily in a better state in Belgium, but we agreed that it is still a nice place to live.

It's Sunday, but I'm working on a proposal for expansion to Latin America, and preparing for this week's meetings. Objective: to find USD 3 million worth of local investments for our SME Fund, and start the legal incorporation of our organization...Wish me luck!

PS: Does anyone know how this Blogger slideshow gadget works? I'm trying to link the pictures that I took in the Golden Gate National Park in SA 2 weekends ago, but it's not working...