Weak global cocoa prices have caused much grief to African producers. Global cocoa futures were down 40% in late April from August 2016, when the decline started.
Côte d&#8217;Ivoire, the world’s largest producer of the commodity, has cut its 2017 budget by 10% consequently. Neighbouring Ghana, and second largest cocoa producer, also missed out on about $1 billion in cocoa export earnings due to the bearish market, according to Joseph Boahen Aidoo, Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), on the sidelines of the emergency International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) meeting held in Abidjan in late April.
The $1.8-billion loan the Cocobod took for the 2016-17 season was spent carelessly or misappropriated to road contracts by Ghana’s erstwhile John Dramani Mahama administration ahead of elections in December 2016, causing it to run out in March. The Cocobod had to seek $400 million in bridge financing via cocoa bills from the Bank of Ghana, the country’s central bank.
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In light of the debilitating effects their cocoa troubles are having on their finances, Côte d&#8217;Ivoire and Ghana have been forced to collaborate more. Unfortunately, the countries, which together account for about 60% of global cocoa supply, have different pricing systems.
“We are trying to harmonize how we do our systems for trading so we can use that to monitor the market and coordinate the sale of cocoa,” said Aidoo in April.
To reduce price volatility, cocoa producers resolved at the ICCO meeting to better manage supply.
Poor bean quality, especially high acidity, is a downer as well. Farmers also worry about above normal humidity levels. In mid-March, Ivorian cocoa grinders were rejecting as much as half of the beans from farmers, as acidity levels were sometimes more than double the European Union ceiling. Dry weather and bad storage are believed to be responsible for the bad beans.
Although it is hoped improved, but late, rains could see better beans come from the April-September mid-crop harvest, worries remain. The rains were quite heavy in mid-April for instance. As a deluge tends to make pods fall from trees, the harvest may not be bumper. Also, heavy rains raise the risk of a disease or pest outbreak. They also make road transportation more difficult, as roads become less than ideal.
Still, a supply crunch is highly unlikely. For the 2016-2017 season, the ICCO forecasts in its February market review that world cocoa bean production would increase by about 15% to 4.55 million tons, with grindings to also rise by about 3% to 4.24 million tons.
Out of this, Côte d&#8217;Ivoire is expected to produce at least 1.9 million tons, 42% of the world total and 20% more than its production of 1.58 million tons in the last season. ICCO projections for Ghana in February for the 2016-2017 season is 850,000 tons. However, Cocobod lowered the target to 800,000 tons in March, a little above the 780,000 tons it produced in the previous season.
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With a glut of the commodity in Côte d&#8217;Ivoire and room for more in Ghana, unsurprisingly cross-border smuggling has been rampant. Depending on the times, cocoa price disparities between the two countries tend to encourage smuggling either way. Although farmgate cocoa prices were set at 1,100 CFA francs per kilogram by the Ivorian Coffee and Cocoa Council for the 2016-2017 main crop harvest, a supply glut due to stockpiles in warehouses from crops as late as December have crashed prices. Suddenly, the 900 CFA francs per kilogram for the commodity in Ghana seemed like a steal. Guinea has also been a beneficiary of Ivorian cocoa smugglers, where it is sold for about 850 CFA francs per kilogram. Such is the despair that Ivorian grinders have been able to strike attractive bargains, with offers ranging from 500 to 600 CFA francs per kilogram. A common market would eliminate these distortions.
Incidentally, the prices for manufactured cocoa products, such as liquid deodorized butter and natural powder, have been steady this year. With cocoa prices so low, and European manufacturers enjoying a boom, there couldn’t be a stronger case for more value addition by African producers. &#8211; Written by Rafiq Raji

Tough Times For The Cocoa Bean Counters

I don’t speak English well,” confesses Aya Konan at the other end of the line. The long-distance conversation does no justice to her well-known effervescent personality. To most Ivorians, she is as famous as their country itself.
Yet, it’s not often that one gets to speak to a designer from Côte d’Ivoire, that beautiful West African country where people speak better French than English.
From her interrupted, reluctant rendition of the English language, you realize that Konan’s real expression is her art form. That her medium is metal, and she is a master story-teller when she works with it.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29691" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/46_17-199x300.jpg" alt="" width="199" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/46_17-199x300.jpg 199w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/46_17-300x451.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/46_17.jpg 377w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px" />
Konan’s life has been a confluence of French and African culture. Her father is Ivorian and her mother French, specifically Alsatian. Born in France, Konan grew up in Côte d’Ivoire from the age of five and left her country again for her studies at the age of 18. By then, she had already dabbled in design. Attending fashion shows as a child, she had seen women wearing only European jewelry. She was determined to change that.
Konan acquired a degree as a computer technician to “please her parents”, but her interest lay in the creative arts. She returned after 12 years to Côte d’Ivoire to craft modern jewelry infusing African traditions. Her inspiration is ancient Akan jewelry and the royal courts, which she aptly captures in her Makeda line of jewelry. Today, she sells wearable art and home décor to clients around the world.
An ardent admirer of Maya Angelou and Miriam Makeba, Konan is a mother of three, married to an architect. She speaks from her home in Abidjan about creativity, Côte d’Ivoire and women in Africa:
&nbsp;
Why is Akan art an inspiration?
I am very inspired by the clothing and jewelry of the ancient Akan royal courts in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
&nbsp;
What medium do you mostly work with?
I work with metals imported from France to respect international standards. After the conception of a masterpiece on metal, I add beads, rhinestones and shells.
Who is your target audience?
My initial target market was ladies over 30 who dressed in traditional African fabrics. Today, I have a line targeted at a younger clientele. My daughters have inspired me. There are accessories, bags, belts, T-shirts etc. I am very careful to be competitive about the prices, to reach as many people as possible, but Makeda is still a premium product.
&nbsp;
How big is your business?
Makeda gathers several activities. The structure has grown and the most important division is Makeda Deco, which has our highest turnover. It produces decorations for events such as weddings and galas. I love everything that is creative. We have a decoration shop where we provide everything for an event such as flowers, rhinestones nd chocolate candles.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29690" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/34_24-199x300.jpg" alt="" width="199" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/34_24-199x300.jpg 199w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/34_24-300x451.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/34_24.jpg 377w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px" />
Where do you retail at the moment?
I opened my first shop in the Place des Victoires in Paris in 1994; at that time, I was manufacturing my jewelry in Paris. Then in 1997, I decided to go back to Africa where I mounted a foundry to be self-sufficient in the production. Later, I opened a showroom and then a few years later a large shop.
&nbsp;
How are female creative entrepreneurs viewed in Africa and the rest of the world?
I think the female entrepreneur has her place just like a man. In fact, I have never considered the question in those terms because I never felt a barrier because I am a woman. That could be the advantage of a creative profession. These are trades where only creativity and emotion count. Dreaming and creating dreams are most important in my line of work.
&nbsp;
In terms of creativity, what sets Côte d’Ivoire apart from the rest of Africa?
My answer is biased because I love my country. Creativity is everywhere in the city, at every intersection, and in even the most remote towns and villages. Ivorians create all the time and even in the most absurd and most terrible ways, as during the post-election violence that hit our country. Many have painted and, particularly, sung on the theme of the crisis. This is a country which is very open to art of all types. So, everything is possible.
&nbsp;
What is the future of women
in Africa?
For me, women play an important role in Africa; they are very enterprising as they are often the pillars of their families. In Côte d’Ivoire, for instance, it is thanks to women that food markets are supplied. I have daughters, and I admire how their generation evolves with tremendous confidence and grand ambitions. I am confident about the future of women.
&nbsp;
What is life like in Côte d’Ivoire?
Life is very nice, as long as there is no political unrest of course, as in many African countries. Abidjan is a city where attitudes are changing and there is tremendous potential in many industries. Cultural life is becoming increasingly important and you see all sorts of occupations, just like you do in large Western cities. Fashion plays a very important role here.

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French Notes From The Creative Coast

The 2014 FIFA World Cup presents Africa with another chance to showcase its talent on the global stage and highlight the great strides that football has made on the continent.
It would be fair to say that the performances of the African teams in 2010 were disappointing, except for Ghana, who were a Luis Suarez handball away from the semifinals.
For the rest of the teams – Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria, Cameroon and hosts South Africa – it was an early first round exit.
All are back in 2014, except South Africa, and now older and wiser, fans should expect an improvement.
We could also see a new generation of African superstars emerge.
When looking for African players who could set the tournament alight, the choices are vast.
You would have to start with three of the greatest the continent has ever seen – Cote d’Ivoire legends Didier Drogba and Yaya Touré, as well as Cameroon forward Samuel Eto’o.
Touré may make the 2018 event, but Drogba and Eto’o are surely taking part in their swansong World Cup.
<div id="attachment_2847" style="width: 229px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2847" class="size-medium wp-image-2847" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/140620368-219x300.jpg" alt="" width="219" height="300" />MANCHESTER, ENGLAND &#8211; MARCH 03: Yaya Toure of Manchester City during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers at the Etihad Stadium on March 3, 2012 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)</div>
The trio have won nine of the last 11 African Footballer of the Year prizes and in one of those years, 2007, it was handed to Frederic Kanoute when Drogba could not make the trophy presentation.
While Drogba’s best years are behind him, Touré is very much the man of the moment and his brilliant season with Manchester City makes him one to watch in Brazil.
Drogba could be used more as an impact player, but his experience and ability to conjure goals in moments of crisis is legendary. Perhaps Cote d’Ivoire might have made the second round four years ago had their talisman not been forced to play with a broken arm.
Eto’o is also not quite the master in front of goal of years gone by, but his guile and presence is enough to make him a danger for opposing defences.
These three have been the African giants of the past decade and will each be desperate to translate that into success come June and July.
But there are also other, less celebrated, players from the continent who could make names for themselves across the globe.
Ghana are a side packed with talent and players like Sulley Muntari, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Michael Essien and Kwadwo Asamoah are already household names.
But they have a young left-winger who has shown immense promise in recent times too, scoring almost every other game in his international appearances to date. Wakaso Mubarak plays for Rubin Kazan in the Russian Premier League and is a livewire with his pace and eye for goal. He will definitely get people talking.
Another to look out for is his compatriot Abdul Majeed Waris, a 22-year-old striker who cannot stop scoring for Valenciennes in the French Ligue 1 this season. He could be usurped by Asamoah Gyan if Ghana only play one striker, but could have an impact off the bench.
Cameroon wingback Allan Nyom showed in a recent friendly against Portugal that not only could he keep Cristiano Ronaldo quiet, but he is also a potent attacking threat.
He has spent the last five seasons on loan at Spanish La Liga side Granada, where he has honed his skills.
Another player on loan at Granada is Algerian playmaker Yacine Brahimi, who recently scored the winner against Barcelona. The former French junior international is in his second season in La Liga and grows every week, suggesting he will be a key element for the Algerians.
Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar went to the 2010 World Cup as an 18-year-old, but it was a little soon for the teenage prodigy. Now older and wiser, he has turned into a real goal-machine as Ligue 1 side Lorient have discovered.
Nigerian youngster Kenneth Omeruo may have been playing at English Championship side Middleborough on loan this season, but that is only because he is not deemed ready for the first team at Chelsea… yet.
However, the right-back, who can also play in the center of the defence, has been tipped as a future superstar and a good showing at the World Cup could accelerate his progress.
Super Eagles winger Victor Moses, on loan this past season at Liverpool from Chelsea, has talents that have been much admired, and soon the same may be said for Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi. He has come through the ranks at the Italian side to stake a regular spot this season and also cement his place in the Nigerian starting line-up.
He played almost every minute of Nigeria’s run to last year’s Africa Cup of Nations title and was an unsung hero for them. His hard work got the team on the front foot and allowed stars such as Moses to weave their magic.
Let’s see what happens in the World Cup that is likely to belong to one of the South American countries. Anything that Africa does is a bonus because, once again, no one is giving us

African Stars To Shine Over Brazil

The French-speaking country, perched on the western tip of the continent, boasts one of the best developed tourist industries in Africa, with six major game parks and reserves. Senegal is home to nearly 13 million people and has remained stable even as neighbors Mali and Guinea and nearby Côte d’Ivoire suffered military coups and political upheavals.
But Senegal had its share of political violence in January 2012. Dakar burnt when the constitutional court allowed incumbent Abdoulaye Wade to seek a third term in office. The 85-year-old’s decision violated the country’s constitution; protestors set fire to large parts of the city. In the end, Wade was defeated by Macky Sall.
In June, on his first official visit to Sub-Saharan Africa, United States President, Barack Obama, visited Senegal to strengthen business relations and encourage investment. Obama’s visit recognized the United States’ commitment to democracy, in a region where dictators and civil strife are common.
A few weeks later, in July, rating agency, Standard and Poor’s (S&amp;P) revised Senegal’s sovereign credit rating outlook to stable from negative. S&amp;P believes the Senegalese government will succeed in cutting its fiscal deficit and carrying out reforms that will lead to faster economic growth. Moody’s Investor Services rated the West African nation B1, before its planned sale of $500 million of Eurobonds in 2011. Moody’s rating is equal to the B+ rating by S&amp;P, along with Nigeria, Kenya, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to name a few.
Senegal earns most of its foreign exchange from fish, groundnuts, phosphates, tourism and services. The phosphate industry has struggled for two years to secure capital and its reduced output has hurt GDP.
In 2007, Senegal signed agreements with foreign companies for new mining concessions for iron, zircon and gold. Various foreign investors have agreed to modernize Dakar’s port and create a new special economic zone.
Its agricultural sector is subject to rainfall and changes in world commodity prices. Following droughts that cut agricultural output in 2011, the West African nation’s economic growth is expected to accelerate this year. According to a Reuters poll, Senegal’s GDP should expand to 4.4%; the International Monetary Fund (IMF) hopes the completion of infrastructure projects, recovery in its agricultural sector and mining projects will boost it further.
The IMF also expects Senegal’s current account deficit to decline, but remains fearful it could go high because of imports associated with investments in the energy and mining sectors. In September, the IMF urged the Senegalese government to maintain its budget deficit target—expected to be reduced to less than 5% of GDP this year—in order to ensure fiscal sustainability.
Senegal relies heavily on donor assistance and foreign direct investment, which in 2000 represented around 32% of overall government spending. Under the IMF’s Heavily Indebted Poor Countries debt relief program, Senegal will benefit from eradication of two-thirds of its bilateral, multilateral and private sector debt.
The country rose from the ashes through an economic reform program following its economy’s contraction by 2.1% in 1993. A year later, with the help of the international donor community, Senegal began a 50% devaluation of the country’s currency; government price controls and subsidies were steadily dismantled. It made for a real turnaround with a real GDP averaging over 5% annually over a decade. Annual inflation was pushed down to low single digits.
Following the country’s 2012 growth at an estimated 3.7%. The African Development Bank (AfDB) believes that growth will accelerate this year and is projected at 5.1% in 2014. AfDB says the growth projections are calculated in the hope that the government’s socio-economic program will be implemented along with the continuation of a toll motorway, the construction of Blaise Diagne International Airport, which is expected to handle around 10 million passengers by 2020, and other infrastructure projects.
Dakar, the melting pot capital city, is one of the busiest cruise ship ports in Africa and is home to around 1.5 million people. It’s impossible to miss the imposing Monument of the African Renaissance statue, when in the capital. As the tallest statue on the continent it stands at 49 meters on one of the twin hills, known as Collines des Mamelles.
Just off of Dakar’s coast is Ile de Gorée—the small island is a big tourist attraction because of its history as a slave trading port.
Dakar also lends its name to the Paris-Dakar rally, which was established after Thierry Sabine got lost on his motorbike in the Tenere Desert during the Abidjan-Nice Rally, in 1977. He came up with a new route starting in Europe through Algiers, in Algeria, crossing Agadez, in Niger, before finishing in Dakar. Most rallies took this route, until security threats in Mauritania forced organizers to cancel the 2008 rally. The following year it moved to South America and has stayed there.
As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, Senegal is working towards greater regional integration with a unified external tariff and a more stable monetary policy.
The economy continues to suffer from an unreliable power supply, with widespread blackouts in 2006, 2007 and 2011, which led to public protests and unemployment. The government is working hard to solve the problem. High unemployment forces many to flee the country in search of jobs.
The country is one of the few on the continent to have issued a Eurobond, that is debt issued in a currency other than the that of the country or market in which it is issued. Eurobonds are attractive to investors because of their small par values and high liquidity. Senegal issued a $500 million 10-year Eurobond in May 2011 at a coupon of 8.75%, to raise funds to improve infrastructure.
In June, Reuters said the country is likely to issue another $500 million 10-year Eurobond this year at an interest rate of around 6%. The IMF said the bond would help the country close its financing gap and reduce its reliance on costly short-term financing from the regional market.

Ashes To Eurobond

Tea is a global tradition, with countries all around the world having different values attached to the beverage. Tea is the world’s second most popular beverage, with different societies drinking it for pleasure, for healing purposes or to spend time with friends and family.
Yswara, a luxury tea company based in Johannesburg, South Africa, was launched in 2012. Its founder and CEO, Swaady Martin-Leke, a national of Côte d’Ivoire, hand-selects the tea from the various African countries, to incorporate into her company’s collection of 23 varieties of tea.
“I created Yswara out of the frustration of seeing one of Africa’s abundant commodities a victim of the commodity trap, [it’s] an international export with no to limited value-add done in Africa,” she says.
Yswara products aim to embody the spirit of Africa; they are all handcrafted and organically-inspired, with African provenance and cultural cachet.
<div id="attachment_1857" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1857" class="size-medium wp-image-1857" src="/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Tea-selection-300x222.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="222" />Tea selection</div>
According to Martin-Leke, specialty tea is the fastest-growing segment within the industry, with gross margins above 60%. She says that consumers are increasingly looking for diverse origins and flavors of teas, and the niché gourmet tea market has only a few luxury brands. Most tea brands are in the premium and mass-market segments.
The growth of the Africa tea market will be driven primarily by an increasing consumer focus on health and wellness, and the continuing emergence of epicurean preferences in food and beverages.
“The gourmet tea market has been traditionally dominated by old French and English tea brands such as Mariage Frères, Dammann Frères, Fortnum &amp; Mason and Tea Palace. TWG from Singapore is challenging the French dominance over gourmet teas and demonstrated their increased popularity in both emerging and developed markets. TWG recorded $30 million in revenue in its first full year of operation after an investment of $10 million,” says Martin-Leke.
This curator of precious African teas wants to make her offering a prestigious product through educating customers on the quality and benefits of African teas, by creating an experience that includes African tea rituals, African-made tea paraphernalia and elegant packaging.
“I outsourced various suppliers such as Andrew Burke of Pure Publishing to work on the creative concepts thus providing Yswara with a brand identity. I also worked with Raynaldyne Molon, who has contributed to the development of international Nespresso, the redesigning the lobby for Victor Hugo and the restaurant company for L’Oréal Produits de Luxe and other clients. I also have great mentors who are experts in the field and guided me, such as Wilfried Guerrand, the head of Hermes Woman. I want Yswara to be placed next to Hermes soon, in the global markets,” she says.
Martin-Leke sources Yswara’s tea from South Africa, Malawi, Rwanda and Kenya with plans to source from Burundi, Cameroon, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. All her staff are women and the suppliers must be 75% female-owned or managed.
“The gourmet tea market in Africa will disappear if brands like Yswara and government initiatives in Africa, such as in Rwanda, don’t support the promotion of better quality tea. Africa will end up producing low-quality tea for mass consumption. Such teas are lower margins for our farmers,” she says.
The thirst for luxury goods in Africa requires in-depth understanding of the market’s mechanics, which differ from mass market businesses.
While Africa has more millionaires than Russia—the number of African millionaires rose 3.9% last year, faster growth than any region except Latin America—the majority of them shop in Europe for luxury goods because there is a very small market in Africa.
Africa’s rapid growth, booming cities and an aspirational middle-class are prompting luxury brands to enter untapped markets across the continent, although the difficulty of finding suitable sites for luxury stores means progress could be slow.
Building an African luxury brand has its challenges. Yswara hopes to be 100% made-in-Africa, by 2014. The main challenge is that Africa’s industrial setting is not accustomed to producing high-quality goods produced at a competitive cost, compared to China or India.
“We struggled to find suppliers who source or manufacture their products in Africa. Then, when world-class quality is met, the consistency is not guaranteed. For example, our tea tin manufacturer just closed this month and there is no alternative in sub-Saharan Africa,” she says.
Sub-standard quality affects a brand and makes it difficult to compete against international luxury brands.
“The cost of exporting outside of Africa is still too high. This is hampering growth of internet sales as well as opportunities to export out of Africa globally,” says Martin-Leke.
The South African specialty tea market only represents $250 million. With limited competition and an aggressive market entry strategy, based on opinion shapers and intensive education campaigns on tea quality, Yswara could grow revenues up to $8 million, or $12 million by year five of operations.
Yswara is targeting the international tea consumers, who are looking for a new tea experience and discover Africa as a tea region. Yswara will also expand globally from year four of operations [to Europe and the States]. We will start with online penetration and expand into direct and indirect retail.”
Packaging is a crucial element of a luxury brand. The brand stands for authenticity, refinement, timeless elegance and an Afropolitan lifestyle.
“The packaging is a key element of a luxury product; it is what the customer picks up. It is, together with the name, the carrier of the product’s luxury,” says Martin-Leke.
Yswara’s pay-off line is “Made in Africa for the World”, and the distinctive African wax Ankara print recalls the ambiance of West African culture.
Martin-Leke is already shipping her luxury tea around the world via her online store and online partners like africacandy.com.
“When going into the luxury market, push the barriers of excellence in Africa… and participate in making the continent a recognized destination for luxury goods rivaling its international counterparts. Africa is too often viewed as a place of low-quality goods and lack of refinement, while our thousands of years of culture, history, know-how and heritage demonstrate that we can do more than producing crafts and ethnic goods,” says Martin-Leke.

Queen Of The Luxury Leaf

Côte d’Ivoire is back in the committee of nations after post-electoral violence plunged the country into civil war in December 2011. The commodity-rich West African country is the world’s largest cocoa producer and net exporter of crops including coffee, banana and pineapple to the European Union (EU).
Côte d’Ivoire is also a leading agricultural economy with oil deposits. It accounts for 45% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the eight West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) countries.
The return to political stability and the economic optimism in the country have been great motivation for corporate high-flyers like Fabrice Sawegnon— Côte d’Ivoire’s brightest spark in advertising and CEO of Voodoo Communication. Now he, along with others, can dream and plan big about expanding enterprises and taking Africa to the next level of economic growth.
It almost did not happen though, for Sawegnon. His company was headed to the scrap-heap, along with many other casualties who also suffered in business, as a result of the post-election uprisings. Voodoo lost about 80% of its revenue in that period. A contract came just in time to avert the demise. The sizable deal was from President Alassane Ouattara’s office for the production of presidential campaign billboards.
“We won the contract to produce billboards during the campaign. The communication strategy deal for President Ouattara continues to date,” said Sawegnon.
Voodoo currently leads the pack in Côte d’Ivoire’s advertising industry with an annual revenue of $20 million. The company is expanding and recently opened offices in Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, Mali and Niger. Another office is due to open in the DRC.
On the day of his interview with FORBES AFRICA, Sawegnon—the pioneer of Afro-centric advertising concepts in Côte d’Ivoire—sits in a plush office fitted with all the décor suited to an executive’s taste. He is ebullient and speaks passionately about advertising. He cuts an image of a CEO on top of his game.
This is a long way from 1999 when, at 28, he set up office determined to be a non-conformist in an industry dominated by Western views and opinions. He used the name  ‘voodoo’, derived from fetish cult worship in Benin, to provoke and draw attention.
“I have always been an inveterate entrepreneur. The idea to start my own company came when I was an employee at McCann Erickson. Prior to 1999, the advertising and marketing industry was dominated by Europeans. The name ‘voodoo’ was meant to give a clear African cultural reference point, ostensibly to position the company in the industry. We believe that advertising hinges on two things: technique and cultural bias. Success did not come on a platter,” explained Sawegnon.
Several European advertising firms approached him for partnerships. He turned them down because he believed an Afro-centric ad company should guard its “independence jealously”.
Voodoo has 300 employees across Africa. The thrust of the engine is a crop of enthusiastic creative and artistic employees who, under the leadership of Sawegnon, have powered the company to its current success. Sawegnon, a quintessential ‘local’ breed businessman, is giving the multinational advertising giants, such as McCann Erickson, a run for their money. Voodoo holds big accounts such as France Telecom (Orange)—which operates both fixed land lines and mobile telephones in Côte d’Ivoire; Western Union; Castel beer and Attijariwafa bank—a subsidiary of a Moroccan bank.
Work teams are structured to achieve optimal effectiveness. A dedicated team of marketers and creative staff is assigned to each account. Sawegnon said the team approach had helped them to deliver sterling performance to clients across the continent. Adding, “I believe in using raw talent that can be molded to produce the desired results. Talent can be cultivated when the environment is conducive.”
To demonstrate his determined commitment to Africa, Sawegnon recounted how he queried “made in America” ad campaigns that promoted a soft drink company showing white children playing in the snow at Christmas while the target public in Africa did not necessarily identify with the cultural ethos.
“I was told that it was appropriate to show such ads in Africa since experiencing snow was considered to be an aspiration of African youths; and that African people dream of visiting countries that experience snow in winter. Of course, I did not believe a word of that assertion.
“I told my colleagues at Voodoo that if a Chinese firm beat us to the game in Africa, it would be because we had lost our cultural finesse. Foreign companies might have a capital base to play with, but they couldn’t know Africa better than us,” he said.
Sawegnon considers his high work ethic as central to his rise from humble beginnings to a successful entrepreneur. He also received personal satisfaction from seeing his staff enjoy the fruits of their labor, saying, “I feel proud to watch my executives drive sleek cars and living the dream.”
He lives by the philosophy of passion and teamwork. The latter because he believes “a person working alone cannot succeed”. Sawegnon encourages young entrepreneurs to participate in creative ventures, However, he concedes that, “although you need teamwork, you equally require visionary leaders capable to chart the course for the team.”
Sawegnon views the sharing of experiences as one way to encourage entrepreneurs to forge ahead in hard times. He is convinced that there is space for Africa’s emergence. He said that youths needed to “show ambition” and aim to reposition the continent. He believes that there was still hope that talent could still be cultivated and that a new crop of corporate leaders could be developed.
Formidable success in advertising has not been a cause for Sawegnon to take things easy. In 2009, he diversified into publishing, with two magazines titles: Tycoon, a soft sell magazine, and Life magazine, which spotlights Ivorian celebrities.
“Tycoon features profiles of business leaders. It is a qualitative magazine which does not touch on the monetary aspects as this is deemed to be culturally unacceptable in our country. Highlighting values is closer to my heart. I am the publisher but I sometimes write the preface or editorials,” he explained.
Sawegnon also invested in an event management company that specializes in billboard advertising. As if that were not enough, he is poised for his next project: the launch of Côte d’Ivoire’s first television station, Life TV, once the Ivorian government issues audiovisual licenses later this year. The plan is ready for him to branch into private television programming and production in a country ripe for business following 12 years of political and civil strife.
The success he has achieved in business makes Sawegnon more keenly aware of the responsibility to give back.
“Those of us who have succeeded owe it to society to give back, especially towards empowering youth and helping to spur micro development initiatives in Africa. As entrepreneurs, we create wealth through job creation and add value to the microeconomic effort. I sincerely believe that if all of us entrepreneurs played our part, our efforts would snowball into a powerful force that would propel Africa forward.”
Sawegnon is a graduate of the prestigious École Supérieure de Commerce of Abidjan, where he majored in marketing. He joined the ranks of Young &amp; Rubicam in 1994 as product manager at Metallivoire Jal Afrique (roofing materials, roofing sheets and paints).
The battle for the soul of advertising in Côte d’Ivoire is not yet over, but Sawegnon has made his intentions clear—to conquer the country and the rest of Africa.

A New Lease on Life for Advertising Bright Spark

Crossing Pont Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan, you get to see Côte d’Ivoire’s dichotomy clearly. In front of you, mid-rise buildings glow with neon lights through the darkness: Pepsi, Mitsubishi, MTN create a mask that hints at prosperity. But the queues of young men waiting on street corners and the cranes pecking at the drifts of garbage on the water’s edge tell a different story.
Once the region’s most sophisticated economy, Côte d’Ivoire is now a case study for the economic impact of conflict and political paralysis. But even though its election descended into violence and the country teetered on the brink of another civil war, the much-delayed completion of the transition from post-war junta to democratic state has put Côte d’Ivoire back on the path to regaining some of its former glory.
A shaky cease-fire, signed in 2003 to hold the country together after an attempted coup, led to a government that controlled the south—under Laurent Gbagbo—and a north run by Forces Nouvelles rebels.
During that limbo, investors talked about the country’s potential and the build up of money that was waiting to be released once the election finally passed. But it was delayed, then delayed again, until it seemed as though the delay would be interminable. While regional neighbors, such as Ghana, saw their economies boom and attract international investment, Côte d’Ivoire was in stasis.
In November 2010, there was one last twist. The incumbent old warhorse Gbagbo refused to yield, leading to a violent standoff. The victor, Alassane Ouattara, formed a government within the compound of the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, protected by a ring of UN peacekeepers while militias fought in the city around them.
Escalating international pressure and financial sanctions eventually led to the collapse of Gbagbo’s support. Ouattara, a former International Monetary Fund official, took over in April last year but not before the country had defaulted on its bonds by failing to make coupon payments to international creditors London Club, while its assets were frozen.
His early achievements—in reassuring investors that the arrears would be repaid and getting backing for debt relief from France—were encouraging, and today in Abidjan there is a cautious optimism. The city is not visibly transformed from two years ago, but construction projects are restarting and traffic is building. Though the change has not been dramatic, the lifting of the deadlock means that companies can finally plan beyond the short term.
“There’s a sense that a lot of things are possible,” says the director of the private equity firm Emerging Capital Partners’ (ECP) Abidjan office, Brice Lodugnon. The security situation has improved and there’s some certainty over the direction of the government, which has pledged to increase spending on infrastructure and agriculture.
The good news is that at least around Abidjan, infrastructure and utilities still function. There are good companies in many sectors and a relatively strong system of governance. Key industries, including financial services, are competitive and the country is still the world’s largest exporter of cocoa. But while Côte d’Ivoire has some of the political risk of a post-conflict environment, it does not have an abundance of underpriced opportunities. That’s a problem for investors.
Even before the crisis, there were tentative expansions into previously politicized industries, including cement making and flour milling, with companies from North Africa, as well as the country’s large French and Lebanese expat communities, moving into manufacturing and processing. Agribusiness group Olam has pledged a further $200 million in investments, while ECP is expanding its portfolio in the power sector. Rather than looking for a new cohort of investors, Ouattara’s government might find more support from those existing players, now free to make long-term plans.
Many businesses were battered by the 2011 crisis but now stoically downplay the human cost of that period, talking instead of the relief at their newfound ability to plan beyond the short term. Still, the scars are there. At the height of the violence, pro-Gbagbo forces executed one of the country’s largest foreign investors—Yves Lambelin, the former president and patriarch of Sifca. That story gets told regularly.
International investors speak highly of Ouattara. One CEO of a multinational operating across the continent said that the president—while his ability to create a government is unproven—is one of the most accomplished leaders in economic planning in Africa.
Politics are bound to be difficult. An hour’s flight north of Abidjan is Ouattara’s hometown of Bouaké, until recently the headquarters of the Forces Nouvelles. There, the difference in development is marked. The roads are in worse condition and the security presence, in the form of UN peacekeepers from Pakistan, are far more visible. People living there refer to the country’s “reconstruction”.
Further up country the situation is worse, with an entire generation denied access to education after the southern government abandoned schools. An executive in a cotton company, with an extensive presence in the north, called the state of some areas “appalling”.
Making sure that the country’s redevelopment is even and that the government—headed by a northerner—does not re-open divisions that are still fresh, will be a massive task for the new president.

Tag: Côte d’Ivoire