CHAPITRE 09Who is here

France's Shadow and a Diverse Business Scene

The CFA franc, French schooling and Lebanese traders

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Since independence, Côte d'Ivoire has kept close ties with France in currency, education, defence and business. The Lebanese community has traded here since the early 20th century and still controls much of retail and wholesale; in recent years Chinese, Indian, Turkish and Moroccan capital has become increasingly active.

The colonial legacy and a pro-French path after independence carried French influence into daily life, while an open trading economy drew wave after wave of foreign merchants.

CE QUE VOUS VERREZ · What you will see

Money is the West African CFA franc (XOF); the elite speak with a Parisian accent and holiday in France; many supermarkets, hardware stores and restaurants are run by Lebanese families; Chinese signs appear more and more on new building sites.

POURQUOI · So what

Knowing who does which business lets you read Abidjan's commercial map, and shows what role you can play as an Asian.

SAVOIR-FAIRE · How to use it

Working with Lebanese-owned businesses is often the fastest route into business in Abidjan. At elite dinners, French culture (literature, wine, Paris) is the shared language.

Asian and European parallelsLike Hong Kong and Britain, or Singapore's diverse business scene: colonial language and institutions, plus trading networks divided along ethnic lines.