Côte d’Ivoire has launched a new entrepreneurship club targeting students in mining, petroleum and energy disciplines as part of efforts to strengthen local participation in strategic industries and nurture the next generation of business leaders.
The initiative, inaugurated on Tuesday by the Kaydan Foundation in partnership with the General Confederation of Enterprises of Côte d’Ivoire (CGECI), aims to provide students with mentorship, practical training, innovation competitions and industry exposure to help transform ideas into viable businesses.
The Entrepreneurship Club for mining, petroleum and energy schools was unveiled in Abidjan and forms part of a broader strategy to encourage youth-led enterprises in sectors considered vital to the country’s economic future.
Speaking at the launch, Kaydan Foundation President Alain Kouadio said the organisation was shifting from a university-by-university approach to a sector-based model in order to maximise its impact.
“While we continue to establish entrepreneurship clubs in universities, we believe a sectoral approach allows us to better structure support and create stronger synergies among students with shared professional interests,” Kouadio said.
He explained that the club would support students from the conception of business ideas through to implementation, with the goal of producing future entrepreneurs capable of contributing to national economic development.
The initiative follows the eighth edition of the Entrepreneur Caravan, organised in November 2024 alongside the International Exhibition of Extractive and Energy Resources (SIREXE), which sought to promote entrepreneurship opportunities within Côte d’Ivoire’s extractive industries.
The focus on mining, oil and energy is closely aligned with the government’s local content policy, which seeks to increase the participation of Ivorian businesses and professionals in sectors traditionally dominated by foreign companies.
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Kouadio said the newly launched club is the third established by the foundation, adding that two more are expected to be created before the end of the year.
The programme received backing from industry leaders, including Koné Kamel, president of the Association of Ivorian Oil and Gas Companies, who serves as the club’s patron.
Addressing students, Kamel urged participants to view the initiative not as an extracurricular activity but as a platform for innovation and business creation.
“This club must be seen as a laboratory where ideas capable of transforming the mining, oil and energy sectors can emerge,” he said.
He encouraged students to embrace ambition and resilience, stressing that failure should not deter them from pursuing entrepreneurial ventures.
Kamel also pledged to help expand membership of the club to more than 200 students and support their participation in innovation competitions and hackathons.
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The initiative has also drawn support from government institutions.
Representing the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Awa Sarah Doumbia welcomed the project and expressed hope that similar entrepreneurship incubators would eventually be established across the country’s higher education institutions.
Doumbia noted that Côte d’Ivoire currently has 10 public universities and pointed to the success of existing entrepreneurship clubs in the cities of Bondoukou and Man, which have attracted 60 and 80 members respectively.
The private sector has likewise committed to supporting the initiative through a strategic partnership between the CGECI and the Kaydan Foundation.
Anastasie Kadja, head of entrepreneurship at the employers’ association, said both organisations shared the objective of fostering a new generation of successful Ivorian entrepreneurs.
“Rather than working separately on similar projects, we chose to combine our efforts to build the champions of tomorrow,” Kadja said.
The partnership is expected to facilitate stronger links between academia and industry while helping students gain access to networks, expertise and opportunities within Côte d’Ivoire’s growing extractive and energy sectors.
By bringing together educational institutions, private companies and entrepreneurship advocates, organisers say the initiative lays the foundation for a stronger ecosystem capable of creating value from the country’s strategic natural resources and promoting greater local ownership within key industries.
