Trade Leads

Building and construction has been one of the sectors least-affected by the troubled political situation since 2002, and has seen a noticeable upswing in the past 12-18 months. Telecommunications firms, including cellular telephone companies and Internet providers, have continued to make substantial investments in infrastructure, facilities and equipment. In the coming several years, the market is expected to grow given the large deficits in housing, stronger macroeconomic growth and foreign investment (from private and international public lending institutions) in the country’s infrastructure in the context of a post-crisis reconstruction program.

The housing market, road construction sector, and other large-scale infrastructure projects offer excellent opportunities to promote American-made building materials, heavy equipment, specialized project management tools and related services. U.S.-made large-scale air conditioning and refrigeration systems could do well in the Ivorian market. Construction equipment (new and remanufactured) and related spare parts could do very well in the Ivorian marketplace, particularly in light of the attractive USDCFA exchange rate.

In addition to the building and construction sector, the Ivorian home remodeling market has the potential to grow significantly over the long term. Similarly, construction of a substantial portion of the upper-end housing market came to an abrupt halt in 2002; significant opportunities exist in furnishing equipment and housewares as these projects are restarted and brought to completion.