Republic of Côte d’Ivoire in Up to €400 Million Loan and Novel Debt-for-Development Swap

Cleary Gottlieb represented the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire in an up to €400 million loan facility agreement arranged by an international commercial bank and benefiting from a partial policy-based guarantee provided by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for an amount of up to €240 million.

Côte d’Ivoire intends to use the proceeds of the loan to complete a debt-for-development swap. The transaction targets some of its most expensive outstanding commercial debt and is designed to improve its debt profile and fiscal position. According to the World Bank, the transaction will help free up around €330 million in public funds over the next five years and generate net savings of at least €60 million for Côte d’Ivoire by replacing expensive existing debt with a loan with a lower interest rate, a longer maturity, and a grace period. Côte d’Ivoire intends to use part of the present value of the net savings generated toward the World Bank Program-for-Results “Strengthening Primary Education System Operation” and any other World Bank-supported priority development projects in the field of human capital, specifically in education, expected to yield significant social benefits.

According to the World Bank, this transaction, which is the first debt-for-development swap of its kind supported by the World Bank Group, differs from other recent debt-for-development swaps in various innovative ways, including the recourse to country systems already in place to avoid costly structures (i.e., offshore special-purposes vehicles and trust funds that incur significant transaction, administrative, and financial costs) while increasing funding for an ongoing World Bank supported education program in Côte d’Ivoire.

Côte d’Ivoire’s debt-for-development swap is part of the World Bank’s wider financing package for it under the Third Investment for Growth Development Policy Financing aimed, among others, at supporting and expanding equitable access to health and education services and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources.

The facility agreement was signed on December 31, 2024, and the drawdown took place on January 10, 2025.

For more information, please see the press release.