Finance: Zenith Bank settles in the heart of Abidjan

Nigerian banking giant Zenith Bank officially launched its activities in Ivory Coast recently, establishing its head office at the Wall Street Building, on Avenue Charles Noguès, in Plateau, Abidjan's business district. Approved in December 2025 by the Ivorian Ministry of Finance and Budget, and placed under the supervision of the UMOA Banking Commission, Zenith Bank Côte d'Ivoire thus becomes the first French-speaking subsidiary of the group, and the third Nigerian banking institution to establish itself in the Ivorian market, after GTBank and UBA. At the head of this new entity, Cédric Tano, a finance professional with more than two decades of experience in the banking sector. The bank will mainly focus on business services and trade financing, strategic segments in a market dominated by regional establishments and subsidiaries of international groups. For Abidjan, welcoming this pan-African heavyweight confirms the status of the Ivorian economic capital as an essential financial hub in French-speaking Africa.