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Within the framework of the launching of Afriland First Bank Ivory Coast, a delegation of Afriland First Group led by Dr Paul K. Fokam, the chairman and founder of the holding company, was on a working trip in Abidjan from 9 to 16 April 2014. We caught up with him last Wednesday upon his arrival at the Abidjan Airport and discussed with him, his ambitions for the Ivorian economy.

What are your impressions as you move into a post crisis Ivory Coast?

As far as we are concerned, it’s our of question to talk about the crisis. Post crisis or whatever, the choice of words is yours. We see a boisterous, developing, dynamic and attractive country. That’s why we seek to contribute to our presence in this country, of which we have a good impression.           
What are the objectives of your group as it moves into the Ivory Coast?

You know, the Ivory Coast is in the centre, in terms of its position and the size of its economy. And it is a country to reckon with in West Africa, besides Nigeria. That’s we can’t afford to stay out of the Ivory Coast.  From the Ivory Coast one can reach out to the entire sub-region because it has a strong, buoyant and stable economy, which makes Africa proud.

In which sectors do you intend to sustain the Ivorian economy?

Remember that our bank is a full service bank. As such, we are committed to providing a multi-sector support to the Ivorian economy. However, I must say that we’ll specially focus on the agricultural sector. We are strongly convinced that agriculture is the sector to be developed, the sector to boost as a priority in order to stimulate growth as well. Next, the so called informal sector must be developed and transitioned into the formal sector. And, this is a special concern for us. We intend to work alongside State to stimulate wealth creation among the poor.

The poor can’t easily access bank loans. What do you intend to do to make things easier for those of them who apply for loans? 

To me, the problem is not that of access to bank loans, rather what matters is the project for which a loan is being applied. As far as I am concerned, we have a number of secondary institutions that intervene at the level of the out of balance sheet, running costs and especially equipment and enable the financing of the poor, who don’t possess the collateral required by conventional banks.

Is your move to the Ivory Coast a result of the « Investir en Côte d’Ivoire » forum? 

No, we started our move earlier. However, we are instep with forum for the simple reason that we had been considering moving into the Ivory Coast for a while. If one intends to contribute to the development of Africa he/she can’t afford to stay out of the Ivory Coast.

Do you intend to remain just in Abidjan or reach out to the rest of the country? 

Please note that if anybody without an ambition has isn’t alive. This implies that we intend to reach out to the entire country because we are determined to contribute to its development and that of Africa. By the way, I am an African and therefore an Ivorian. And I am proud to, as it were, work alongside the government of this country for its development.

Interviewed by Sébastien Kouassi