A success story from the Ivory Coast

The Ivory Coast transit and handling company, SIMAT, is a flourishing SME on the national as well as international level. Since its debut in 2001, its turnover has not ceased to grow. In 2006, the figure reached 8.7 million euros and in 2008, it is expected to rise to approximately 11 million euros. The company’s introduction to the Paris Euronext Stock Exchange in 2007 is proof of its healthy results.
Based in Abidjan, the Ivory Coast economic capital and largest port in Western Africa, its activity focuses on loading and unloading in port and airport zones. While transit represents 57% of its turnover, handling accounts for 39%. Added to these are consignment, storage and degroupage services.
On the field, SIMAT is present in the ports of Abidjan, San Pedro (the country’s second largest port), and the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny Airport in the Ivory Coast capital. In terms of surface area, the company is endowed with all possible assets
for the efficient storage of goods. Its yard warehouses stretch out over almost 25,000 m2 in Abidjan and 10 000 m2 in San Pedro. As far as imports are concerned, SIMAT deals mainly with finished or semi-finished products, such as rice or sugar. For export, cocoa and coffee represent the bulk of products managed.
SIMAT is above all the creation of one man: Stéphane Eholié, its founder and President-Managing Director. Born in Abidjan in 1961, he pursued studies in business finance in Paris – a path that did not necessarily predestine him to work in transport. But in 1984, he met French businessman Vincent Bolloré. He then joined SDV Logistique Internationale, a subsidiary of the Bolloré Group specialised in transport and logistics. “This was a very good learning place, but I wanted to create my own business, to bring others together,” he confides. It was thus that SIMAT was born in May 2001. Capital and management are 100% Ivory Coast in origin. Mr. Eholié chose to rely on local riches and to provide quality services on an international scale. “People make up the foundation,” he states. “You need to know how to extract the quintessence of human value.”
Initially, the company employed forty people only. At the end of December 2008, permanent staff numbers will rise to 200. To which must be added 1,000 casual
employees. The CEO is an avid worker: he arrives on the premises at 5.30 am and does not leave his office until 8 pm. His wife, Monique Amethier, supports him on a daily basis: “She has always believed in me.” As President of the company’s administrative council, she owns 24% of the capital, and advises her husband on all big decisions. SIMAT can boast of being a model of equality: amongst its managers, there are the same numbers of women as men!
Another important point in the strategy of Stéphane Eholié is the North-South partnership. While today, SIMAT is the number three local transit company, it wants to make a difference on the international stage, despite the uncertainties that may exist in the Ivory Coast’s political situation. For example, the company had to react to the country’s 2002 coup d’état. “A businessman must adapt and plan for the future,” underlines Stéphane Eholié.
In his opinion, the next elections will bring change and foreign companies should
invest straight away. “Local SMEs will be the vectors of growth,” continues the
President-Managing Director. “It is up to us to prove that we are capable of this challenge.” SIMAT’s entrance onto the Paris Euronext Stock Exchange is a sign of this desire to assert itself and make itself known. This introduction has allowed the company to win many new clients.
The starting rate of 4.38 euros has now reached a steady rate of around 10 euros. These results have also inspired confidence amongst banks, allowing SIMAT to carry out steady development.
Previously, the company was subject to the onerous Ivory Coast interest rates and short-term credits. In the future, the capital raised will give it the means to invest in new technical equipment. Mr. Eholié is not driven by the desire to make a personal fortune. He also sets out to be indexed on the Ivory Coast stock exchange. If he succeeds, this will be the first time that a company will be present both on a national and foreign stock exchange.
Today, the company is working on a number of projects. The first is the management of a fertiliser terminal in Abidjan, which the city’s autonomous port wishes to entrust to SIMAT. Technical and environmental studies are underway. The terminal’s creation is likely to cost between 8 and 10 million euros, a sum to be undertaken by SIMAT. The company has also signed a one-year renewable agreement with the World Food Programme, representing between 35,000 and 45,000 extra tons of goods. Mention should also be made of increasing demand for SIMAT services from countries such as Burkina Faso or Mali.
To meet all these demands, the company envisages new warehouses: an extra 25 000 m2 in space is foreseen in San Pedro, 18 000 m2 in Abidjan. In 2010, Stéphane Eholié hopes to set up in other African countries. The entrepreneur is confident and believes that the UN will lower the risk level in the Ivory Coast from 3 to 2. Above all, he believes in his country: “Africa needs to be constructed and reconstructed.”
Having no political affiliation, he is inspired by a desire to change mentalities: “I want to shatter the idea that the success of the African man is due to his political network.” This man of convictions dreams that the success of his company will serve as an example for all his compatriots.