West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS-2026)

On the eve of ECOWAS’s golden jubilee, the West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS-2026), convened by H.E. President Julius Maada Bio, signals a deliberate return to the foundational principles of economic integration. Ahead of the Summit, the Expert Group Meeting (EGM) in Freetown serves as the technical bedrock designed to convert national disparities into regional growth corridors. It is within this dynamic — one that is reshaping sub-regional investment frameworks and the evaluation of related public policies — that Mr. Tidiane Coulibaly was co-opted to participate in its proceedings.

Expert Profile

An economist, Mr. Tidiane Coulibaly has distinguished himself through his command of structured investment across complex sectoral challenges and his expertise in public policy evaluation (LSE; École Nationale de Statistique et d’Économie Appliquée × MIT). His investment banking career has enabled him to lead high-impact mandates notably the resource mobilisation process for the construction of Tour Entente on behalf of the Conseil de l’Entente. This analytical rigour has positioned Mr. Coulibaly as a strategic advisor at the highest levels of government, including to the President of the Republic and formerly to the Minister of Economy and Finance of Benin, where he contributed to structuring a brownfield investment framework designed to equip the country with a world-class airline combining operational performance with economic sustainability.

As Project Director of the Abidjan Mineral Gateway (AMG), he continues to apply this same rigour in service of Ivory Coast’s national ambitions confirming his reputation as a bridge between investment and project operationalisation, balancing the demands of capital markets with the imperatives of state sovereignty.

Mining Sector: Paradigm Shift

Mr. Coulibaly advocates a paradigm shift in the sub-regional mining sector. His vision centres on integrating a diversified energy mix including solar power  to reduce operational costs and improve the environmental and reputational risk profile (ESG) of mining operations. By promoting strict alignment with international standards and a reduction of the toxic footprint (cyanide and mercury), he aims to enhance the attractiveness of mining assets to private equity capital, whose selection criteria are tightening in response to escalating climate pressures.

Food Security: De-risking for Local Banks

Through the AquaFeed initiative developed under the Strategic Program for the Transformation of Aquaculture in Ivory Coast (PSTACI), a programme under the authority of the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Coulibaly has orchestrated a de-risking strategy for local financial institutions. By structuring an in-situ supply of high-quality feed, he has repositioned fish as a bankable asset, fostering the emergence of a local industry capable of reaching critical mass. This approach reduces dependence on imports, stabilises production costs, and guarantees qualitative and sustainable food security.

EGM Work Pillars: Building an Investment-Ready Ecosystem

Mr. Coulibaly’s contribution to the EGM is focused on creating a fully investment-ready ecosystem, structured around the following workstreams:

Work Pillar	Financial and Operational Objectives
§  Barrier Diagnostics	Identification of investment bottlenecks and consolidation of technical baseline reports.
§  Pipeline Engineering	Selection and prioritisation of flagship projects destined for Deal Rooms, to ensure immediate bankability.
§  De-risking Instruments	Definition of regulatory reforms and cross-border capitalisation tools to unlock large-scale investment.
§  Governance & Monitoring	Validation of the Freetown Communiqué with measurable KPIs to enable effective implementation tracking.

Mr. Tidiane Coulibaly’s mission to Freetown reflects the emergence of African expertise capable of reconciling economic diplomacy with financial engineering. His contribution is pivotal to making WAIIS-2026 the catalyst for an integrated, resilient West African economic space one that is genuinely attractive to international capital.