Abidjan Land Days 2026

Nommé le 5 avril 2024 Ministre des Finances et du Budget du Sénégal, M. Cheikh DIBA a exercé ses fonctions pendant plus de deux ans, conduisant la politique budgétaire et financière de l’État dans un contexte marqué par d’importants défis économiques. À la faveur de la réorganisation gouvernementale intervenue en juin 2026 et de l’unification des départements en charge de l’Économie, des Finances et du Plan, il a été porté à la tête du nouveau Ministère de l’Économie, des Finances et du Plan. Il assure désormais la coordination et la mise en œuvre des politiques économiques, budgétaires et financières de l’État du Sénégal. Avant sa nomination au Gouvernement, il occupait le poste de Directeur de la Programmation budgétaire au sein de la Direction générale du Budget. Aujourd’hui, à la tête du Ministère de l’Économie, des Finances et du Plan, Cheikh DIBA met son expertise au service de la conduite des politiques économiques, budgétaires et financières du Sénégal.

A civil engineer by training and a Mauritanian politician, Mr. Mamoudou Mamadou Niang has served as Minister of State Domains, State Assets, and Land Reform of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania since September 18, 2025. He previously held the position of Minister of Housing, Urban Planning, and Regional Development from August 6, 2024, to September 18, 2025, having served prior to that as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research from July 4, 2023, to August 6, 2024. Born in 1962, Mr. Mamoudou Mamadou Niang holds a degree in civil engineering (specializing in roads) from the École Nationale Supérieure des Travaux Publics (ENSTP) in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, where he pursued his higher education from 1983 to 1987. His training and professional career have enabled him to develop solid expertise in the design and execution of road projects, hydro-agricultural infrastructure, civil engineering structures, and geotechnical studies, as well as in the monitoring and supervision of major development works.

Born on August 5, 1959, Cheick Daniel Bamba is a career civil administrator and a graduate of the National School of Administration (ENA), belonging to the Philippe Yacé class (1985–1987). A product of the Ivorian territorial administration system, he has held several high-level positions, including Director General of Administration and Territorial Planning; Prefect of the Moyen-Comoé Region and the Abengourou Department; Director General of Territorial Administration; Special Advisor to Prime Ministers; and Chief of Staff to the Minister of the Interior and Security. He also served as Minister of Territorial Administration from 2006 to 2007. Since August 2017, he has served as Director General of the Rural Land Agency (AFOR). His career is also distinguished by his involvement in major state initiatives, particularly regarding election organization, citizen identification, territorial administration, and the redeployment of the civil service. From 2003 to 2006, as Executive Secretary of the National Steering Committee for the Redeployment of the Administration, he played a key role in redeploying 27,000 civil servants to the central, northern, and western regions of the country. At the helm of AFOR, he now applies his extensive experience in territorial administration to implementing the policy for securing rural land tenure in Côte d’Ivoire. A passionate Taekwondo enthusiast, Cheick Daniel Bamba served as president of the Ivorian Taekwondo Federation from March 2009 to October 2021. Under his leadership, Côte d’Ivoire rose to become a major power in the sport, notably securing Olympic medals through Cheick Cissé Sallah and Ruth Gbagbi at the 2016 Rio Games. A 7th-dan Kukkiwon black belt, he holds numerous honors, including the ranks of Commander of the National Order, as well as Commander of the Orders of Ivorian Merit, Sports Merit, Civil Service Merit, and Agricultural Merit. He was also twice awarded the National Excellence Prize for Best Sports Executive (in 2012 and 2013) and was decorated by the Republic of Korea in 2016 with the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit.

John World BONOUA is an expert in land governance and local development, with over ten years of experience in conflict management, spatial planning, and the implementation of rural land policies in Côte d’Ivoire. As a technical advisor at GIZ, he contributes his expertise to programs and projects focused on ecosystem conservation, sustainable natural resource management, and forest landscape restoration. In this capacity, he serves as the focal point for the Biodiversity and Forest Cluster in its dealings with national institutions such as the Rural Land Agency (AFOR). He holds a Master’s degree in Rural Land Management from the School of Agronomy at the National Polytechnic Institute of Yamoussoukro and a DEA (postgraduate diploma) in Communication Sciences from the University of Bouaké. He combines solid technical expertise with recognized skills in communication, advocacy, project management, and strategic analysis. An active member of the Côte d’Ivoire chapter of the Youth Initiative for Land in Africa (YILAA), he advocates for inclusive land governance based on transparency, citizen participation, and social cohesion.

Ladislas Nze Bekale holds a degree from the ENA (France) and a doctorate in Military History and Defense Studies from the University of Montpellier III. He is an official at the African Union Commission and a member of the editorial board of the African Union’s *African Journal on Terrorism*. He serves as Director of the Youth, Peace, and Security Program (IPREVA-Cameroon) and teaches African integration and the African Union’s defense and security policy in the History Department at Omar Bongo University (Gabon). He is also a researcher at the Centre for Analysis and Foresight on Africa (CAPA) at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Additionally, he served as a reporting officer at the Joint Operations Centre of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

An environmental and development economist, Renaud Lapeyre has 20 years of experience in the economic valuation of biodiversity. After completing his doctorate, he worked at IDDRI (Sciences Po), where he coordinated a European research project (BiodivERsA) focused on economic instruments for biodiversity governance—such as payments for ecosystem services, biodiversity offsets, and debt-for-nature swaps. At WWF France, he launched the organization's research and advocacy activities regarding Natural Capital, working on tools to integrate natural capital into economic decision-making at both the corporate and national public levels. The Natural Capital unit at WWF France launched initiatives covering ecological accounting (CARE, ESGAP) and national ecosystem accounting, as well as work on the launch of the TNFD (announced at the G7 summit in France) and the integration of biodiversity into the activities of public development banks. At Nitidae, he coordinated the Mabi-Yaya Program and works on territorial projects for natural resource management and valuation, particularly through REDD+ initiatives and potential biodiversity certificates (via the Organization for Biodiversity Certificates—OBC—initiative).

A land surveyor and cartographic engineer trained at the École Nationale des Sciences Géographiques in Paris and the University of Abomey-Calavi in ​​Benin, he held various positions of responsibility at Benin’s National Geographic Institute between 1997 and 2007. After a brief one-year stint with GTZ (German development cooperation) working on a project to produce 300 rural land plans, he headed the topography unit for the construction and commissioning of Benin’s new cement plant (NOCIBE) from 2011 to 2017. He subsequently joined the ANDF upon its inception and has led its Cadastre Department since December 9, 2017.

Key career milestones: - Since 2026: Director General, FOA - 2021–2026: Director of Operations, FOA - 2018–2021: Deputy Director of Forest Cadastre and Mapping - 2017–2018: Analyst, Directorate of Reforestation and Forest Cadastre - 2015–2017: Cadastral GIS Engineer, CITRAT (Ivorian Surveying and Topography Firm)

• Over 20 years of experience in land governance and rural development. • Land Tenure Officer at FAO; Focal Point for support to land programs in Africa and land policies.

A Land Surveyor and Topographic Engineer who graduated from IAV Hassan II in Morocco (2002), he began his career in France, holding senior positions and managing major projects—spanning geodesy, photogrammetry, and land surveying—for several leading French companies. He is accredited by the DGFIP (France) to prepare land survey documents and carry out all cadastral work in metropolitan France—excluding the Alsace-Moselle departments—in accordance with Order No. BCRE1018050A dated July 30, 2020. In 2008, he founded GTF ("Géomètre Topographe de France") in France, a company that would later become BEC2I. In 2013, he established GEOMATOS in France and, that same year, launched its Ivorian branch, which became GEOMATOS HOLDING GROUP in 2022. In 2021, he enrolled in the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at MDE Business School and IESE Business School. Under his leadership, numerous large-scale projects have been successfully completed in France and across several African countries.

Areas of expertise: Integrated systems, mass issuance of land certificates, smart financial systems Key career milestones: - Identification within the rubber sector (2012): 176,000 [units] in under 60 days - Geolocation and area measurement of rubber plots (2013): 200,000 plantations - Integrated land tenure security system for the rubber sector: 2014 - Sustainable stabilization of unpaved roads: Since 2020

Bahi Apollinaire BOUA, a Chief Financial Services Administrator, has served as the Director of the Cadastre for Côte d’Ivoire since January 2020. In this capacity, he oversees the production and maintenance of urban and rural land registry records, coordinates cadastral activities and tax assessment operations, manages real estate valuation and appraisal, and develops reform proposals to improve property tax revenue performance. He has participated in numerous conferences, seminars, and working groups (including those organized by the World Bank, ATAF, CREDAF, FILOSES, and LOGRI) focused on cadastral reform and enhancing property tax revenue. Prior to joining the Cadastre Directorate, he served as a policy analyst within the Directorate of Legislation, Litigation, and Documentation, where he contributed to drafting legislative texts for the fiscal annex to the State Finance Act. He holds a *Diplôme d’Études Approfondies* (DEA—an advanced postgraduate degree) in Public Law and is a graduate of the National School of Administration (ENA) of Côte d’Ivoire (Class of 2005–2006). Since 2012, he has lectured on property taxation at the same institution. In his civic and community life, he previously served as the local representative for the Tax Agents' Mutual Association (MADGI) and currently serves as the President of the Development Association for the Vavoua Department (MUDEVA). Regarding his personal life, he is married and a father of four children.

A legal specialist in land law and agricultural policy, Mr. Agui Majoie YOBO possesses extensive expertise in securing land assets, regulatory analysis, and resolving land-related disputes. Within the Land and Legal Affairs Department at the headquarters of the National Center for Agronomic Research (CNRA), he manages the institution's land assets and oversees its legal affairs. His career is defined by deep practical experience with Ivorian land issues, developed notably at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Rural Land Directorate—where he worked on drafting regulations and handling land disputes—and at the geomatics firm GSEF EXPERTISE as a Land Law Specialist. A key expert in this field, he has led institutional communications regarding rural and urban land issues at major national and international events, such as SARA, FONSTI symposiums, SIA Paris 2024, and SATCI in Luxembourg. This mastery of land law is underpinned by solid, cross-functional experience in both the corporate sector and large-scale projects.

Fabrice Irie is an Ivorian GIS expert and the founder of the Modelis Group. He holds a degree from the Félix Houphouët-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute and a Master’s degree in GIS from the University of Caen. He began his career in 2004 in Mali, where he led the development of a digital land registry management application. From 2005 to 2015, he worked as an engineer at ESRI France. Through the Modelis Group, established in 2011, he has contributed to projects involving cadastre systems, land management, and the securing of parcel identifiers in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. He is the President and co-founder of the Association of Geomatics Companies of Côte d’Ivoire, as well as a co-founder of the School of Geomatics and Territory and the African Geomatics Professionals Network. His work combines entrepreneurship, training, and the development of geospatial solutions tailored to the challenges facing Africa. He also serves as the General Commissioner of the African Space Solutions Market.