SMEs and mid-sized companies: Senate unanimously approves Commerce Ministry reforms

In Yamoussoukro, the Senate’s Economic and Financial Affairs Committee unanimously approved two bills presented by Ibrahim Kalil Konaté, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Crafts. The first updates the 2014 SME law, harmonizes the definition of SMEs, recognizes mid-sized companies and the entrepreneur status, and provides for a financing support fund and an observatory. The second ratifies a 2025 ordinance intended to streamline the GUDE-PME and improve coordination of its support services. Of the 87,361 SMEs counted in Côte d’Ivoire, 55,000 are active; the reforms aim in part to encourage formalization and access to state services.