Concept Project Information Document (PID) - Cote d'Ivoire Jobs and Economic Transformation - P172425

Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to decline from 2.4 percent in 2019 to -2.1 to -5.1 percent in 2020, the first recession in the region in 25 years3. [...] The employment challenge in Côte d’Ivoire relates to the quality, inclusiveness and productivity of jobs.4 In particular, the high concentration of employment in low-productivity occupations in agricultural and non-agricultural self- employment (47.5 percent and 29.7 percent of the labor force respectively) poses a challenge for structural transformation. [...] The informal sector constitutes a large part of the economy (up to 70 percent of output, up to 90 percent of employment and contributes 30-40 percent of GDP (up from 20 percent in 2012 (IMF)). [...] In March 2020, the Government of Cote d’Ivoire launched an economic response plan to support households and the private sector that is aligned with the objectives of the project. [...] On the demand side, the high rate of informality of MSMEs and lack of business skills and ability to provide quality business plans contribute to SMEs limited access to credit.