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With more than 17 years of experience, he assisted structures and secures corporate, banking, and insurance operations across the OHADA, CIMA, and WAMU zones.
He led the Group Legal Department at NSIA Participations, a major financial holding company with a strong footprint across Central and West Africa (covering 12 countries).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/assemian-faustin-kouakou/
Côte d’Ivoire’s legal market in 2025 is benefiting from accelerated foreign investment, sophisticated regulatory reforms, and heightened deal and compliance activity across industries such as banking, telecom, natural resources, fintech, and infrastructure. The government’s National Development Plan and changes in OHADA law and sector-specific regulation are positioning law firms for sustained growth in transactional, compliance, and dispute resolution services.
Transactional Demand
Mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and project finance are active, fuelled by reforms to the Ivorian Investment Code, new incentives for investors, and a predictable, codified business law environment under the OHADA system.
Due diligence, regulatory advice, and structuring are top priorities for international investors entering banking, mining, digital, agribusiness, and real estate sectors.
Regulatory clearances from sectoral authorities and compliance with tax and employment law frequently require advice from leading corporate law firms.
Dispute Resolution and Compliance
Côte d’Ivoire has modernised its commercial judiciary, digitising court systems and expanding commercial courts to expedite business dispute resolution, which has increased investor confidence and cross-border deal flow.
Enhanced enforcement of creditor rights in insolvency, new e-filing systems, and regional arbitration options (via CCJA in Abidjan) promise more reliable contract enforcement.
Law firms are increasingly called on for compliance and risk advisory in areas such as anti-money laundering, data protection (with GDPR-like standards), local content regulations, and corporate governance under the latest OHADA reforms.
Key Trends Shaping Legal Work
Launch of national electronic land registry and Unified Social Security Identifier (NUMOSS) streamlines land deals and employment law compliance.
Adoption of new digital and telecom laws, local content quotas, and financial sector reforms expand the need for cross-disciplinary counsel.
There is minimal restriction on foreign ownership outside of some regulated sectors, but strict reporting and compliance requirements (including foreign exchange) persist for cross-border investors.
Corporate and transactional lawyers with expertise in OHADA law, sectoral regulation, dispute resolution, and international compliance are seeing the greatest demand in Côte d’Ivoire as 2025 unfolds.

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