Founded in Paris in 1920, Gide is a leading international law firm with 12 offices spread throughout the world.
Gide is physically present in six regions of the world, with 11 offices, enabling it to act on cases globally.
24 October 2019
Africa | Côte d'Ivoire | Projects (Finance & Infrastructure)
For two years now, Gide has been working with the Ivorian Ministry of Tourism and Leisure and his Excellency Mr Siandou Fofana on the implementation of the "Sublime Côte d’Ivoire" tourism strategy, and the structuring, development and financing of a number of strategic projects.
The firm assisted the Ministry in organising and holding a donor roundtable with leading international financial institutions and groups in the tourism, real estate, construction and infrastructure sectors (hailing primarily from Europe, China, Turkey, India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) on 20 and 21 October in Dubai, whose initial objective was to raise CFA 1,700 billion (approx. USD 2.8 billion) of foreign direct investment in the Ivorian tourism sector.
Minister Patrick Achi (Secretary General to the President of Côte d'Ivoire) and Mr Zurab Pololikashvili (Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organisation) were active participants in the roundtable, which ultimately led to a mobilisation of funds well above expectations at CFA 2,500 billion (approx. USD 5 billion).
Gide, represented by partner Nicolas Jean and associate Constance Emié, negotiated and finalised a number of memoranda of understanding and letters of intent signed by the Minister in Dubai, and will again assist the Ministry in the coming weeks to finalise the structuring, creation and financial closing of the sovereign and private equity investment funds set up to receive a part of the funds pledged in Dubai.
During his roundtable closing address, the Minister warmly thanked the Gide team for its "devotion, availability and efficiency", highlighting its "active role in the success of the event and in reaching the Ministry's objectives". The Minister also stated: "I would in particular like to thank Nicolas Jean who, through his support, tireless work and leadership skills, largely contributed to the success of this project. It is a pleasure to have by our side such an ardent defender of our nation, who is unquestionably a lawyer of reference in this type of strategic mission".
Gide's team advising the Ministry was headed by partner Nicolas Jean, working with associates Perrine Delandre, Constance Emié and Célia Alao on project structuring and sector reform, partner Stéphane Puel, counsel Benjamin Delaunay, and associates Kikoun Landry Coulibaly and Jennifer Choissis on fund structuring, and counsel Julien Guinot-Deléry and associate Luca Chevallier on aspects of media and communications law.
