Assemian Faustin Kouakou
Partner and head of the Abidjan office
He is a member of the Ordre des Conseils juridiques de Côte d'Ivoire and the Association des Juristes en Droit des Affaires en Afrique.
Office : Abidjan

Biography

Assemian Faustin Kouakou operates in one of the most dynamic economies of West Africa where he assists international and local companies in their establishment and expansion projects in Côte d'Ivoire but also more widely in other French-speaking African countries including the OHADA (Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa) zones, UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union), CEMAC (Central African Economic and Monetary Community) and CIMA (Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets).

His practice focuses on M&A, business law and commercial law. He also advises on competition law and intellectual property law in various key sectors such as banking/finance/capital markets, insurance/reinsurance, infrastructure, energy/renewable energy and automotive. We also provide tailor-made assistance to foreign companies in the areas of tax and labor law. In addition to his international clients, foreign law firms call upon Assemian Faustin Kouakou for his expertise in the regulations applicable in Côte d'Ivoire and in the 17 countries of the OHADA zone.

Recent interventions

CGIAR System Organization (Africa Rice)

Advice and legal assistance in the context of cross-border capital flows from Côte d'Ivoire with respect to the UEMOA exchange regulations.

Salama - Islamic Arab Insurance Company PSC - UAE

Legal advice and assistance in the sale by Salama - Islamic Arab Insurance Company PSC, a leading insurance company in the field of Shari'ah compliant Takaful solutions in the United Arab Emirates, of its insurance subsidiary based in Senegal to Groupe Duval, a French real estate group.

Bridgestone Middle East & Africa FZE

Legal and tax advice and assistance in the context of Bridgestone 's establishment in French-speaking West Africa

Paystack Nigeria

Advice and legal assistance on electronic payment activities within the WAEMU zone

JUMIA Group

Advice and legal assistance within the framework of the e-commerce activities of the subsidiaries of the JUMIA Group in Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal.

China Gezhouba Group International Engineering Co.

Tax and legal advice in the context of a public order for road widening works in Ivory Coast

United Bank of Africa Group

Legal advice on the restructuring of the mandates of the group's non-executive directors within the WAEMU region in accordance with WAEMU banking regulations and OHADA law

Awards

Prior to joining Bennani & Associés, Assemian Faustin Kouakou headed the Legal Department of the NSIA Participations Group, an Ivorian holding company grouping together banks, insurance companies and Management and Intermediation Companies / UCITS Management Companies present in several Central and West African countries.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Banking regulation and capital market WAEMU

Labour Law

Tax Law

Infrastructure-PPP

Intellectual property law OAPI

Protection and processing of personal data

OHADA Business Law

CEMAC banking regulations

CIMA Insurance & Reinsurance Regulations

UEMOA Competition Law

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Insurance/Reinsurance

Banking/Finance and Capital Markets

Renewable energy

TRAINING

July 2021: Certificate in M&A from Columbia Business School (USA)
June 2020 : Certificate in "Corporate / Business Strategy" (HEC Paris, France)
May 2018: Certificate in Project Management (Emilyon Business School, France)
March 2014: Certificate in Insurance Law (CADD of Douala, Cameroon)
November 2010: Master 2 in Human Resources Management (HEC Abidjan)
May 2009: DESS in Business Law (University of Cocody-Abidjan)
June 2006: Master's degree in Business Law (University of Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire)
June 2005: Bachelor's degree in Law (University of Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire)

LANGUAGES

English

French

CONTACT

Bennani & Associates
Abidjan Cocody-Vallon
SAYEGH Building
Third floor - Suite N°2
22 BP 455 Abidjan 22
Tel: (+225) 27 22 59 80 51
Cell: (+225) 05 05 08 99 73
Email : akouakou@bennaniassocies.com

Partners

An experienced and multidisciplinary team with a perfect legal knowledge of local markets