For a large part of the 20th century, the Côte d'Ivoire was a model of prosperity in West Africa. Though its agriculture-dependent economy has been going through a difficult time as a result of political unrest, the country remains one of the largest economies in the region, playing a key role in transit trade for its neighbouring landlocked countries.

As the Ivoirian economy goes into an upward swing, there is a surge in demand for all utilities, especially energy; this has led to the development of projects like the Azito power plant near Abidjan.

Azito is managed by Actis portfolio company Globeleq – a specialist developer and operator of power generation facilities across the emerging markets. Azito’s gas-fired plant uses natural gas, ensuring energy independence while also enabling Côte d'Ivoire to become an important electricity supplier to other parts of West Africa.

In October 2010, Globeleq committed to increase its equity stake in Azito. This increased participation means that Globeleq can carry out a conversion of the existing plant from open to combined cycle, which will increase output from the existing 288MW to 432MW. It is expected that the expansion project will be implemented as soon as the internal political situation stabilises and negotiations with the government have been completed.