The Startup Ecosystem in Côte d'Ivoire: Incubators, the Startup Act and Leading Sectors

Côte d'Ivoire (in West Africa, French-speaking, the world's largest cocoa producer) has a young population: according to the International Trade Centre (ITC), about 70% of its citizens are under 35, and the digital economy accounts for about 3% of GDP. In recent years the government has backed startups through legislation and public incubation, and in 2025 Abidjan rose markedly in international rankings of startup cities.

Policy: the Startup Act and its labelling scheme

On 23 November 2023, Côte d'Ivoire adopted Law No. 2023-901, commonly known as the "Startup Act" (the law promoting digital startups), published in the Official Journal in January 2024. Drawing on Tunisia's approach, the law is built around a startup "label" scheme:

• Eligibility: legally established in Côte d'Ivoire, with a majority of the capital held by Ivorian nationals; an innovative product, technology or business model; and a prototype, minimum viable product or market validation.
• Pre-label: early-stage teams meeting the first conditions can obtain a one-year pre-label, renewable once.
• Possible incentives: customs and social security measures, specific public procurement opportunities, tax measures, credit guarantees and financing support, with details to be set by implementing regulations; the label is valid for up to five years.
• Authority: applications are reviewed by a labelling committee under the ministry responsible for the digital economy. In March 2025, the government announced the creation of the Digital Startup Labelling Committee, putting the scheme into operation.

Because the label requires majority Ivorian ownership, foreign companies wishing to take part are more likely to do so as minority investors, technology partners or customers.

Incubators and support organisations

In addition, in April 2025 the Ministry of Digital Transition announced that the IvoirTech Forum would be held in Abidjan from 9 to 11 July of that year, aiming to bring startups and digital transformation players together on a single platform.

Leading sectors

In official sources and media reports, the sectors showing the most marked growth in startup numbers include fintech, agritech, e-commerce and ICT services. In the city ranking by StartupBlink, which assesses startup ecosystems, Abidjan climbed from 696th in 2024 to 576th in 2025; local examples cited in reports include the fintech company Djamo, the e-payment provider CinetPay and the e-commerce brand Anka.

The main challenges facing startups are funding, regulation and market access, and venture capital in French-speaking Africa remains relatively limited.

One line for Asian companies

If you are looking for technology partners or a pilot market in West Africa, start by making contact through demo days at organisations such as Hub Ivoire Tech and Orange Digital Center, and at events like the IvoirTech Forum. For details on investment structures and label incentives, check the latest rules with the Ministry of Digital Transition.

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References: Droit Médias Finance – Que dit la loi sur les startups du numérique (2024); ITC – The Startup Act takes shape in Côte d'Ivoire; Launch Base Africa – A label for every startup (2025); Digital Mag – Abidjan dans le Top 600 mondial, StartupBlink (2025); AllAfrica – Forum IvoirTech annoncé depuis Marrakech (2025); Hapa Kenya – Orange opens its 5th Orange Digital Center in Abidjan (2021)