Orange Corners Côte d’Ivoire and ESP join forces with Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire to boost innovative agricultural entrepreneurship

PRESS RELEASE

Abidjan, February 18, 2026 – The Orange Corners Côte d’Ivoire community has taken a decisive step in strengthening its ecosystem with the arrival of a leading financial partner: Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire. The official signing of this strategic partnership took place on February 18, 2026, at the residence of H.E. Jeroen Kelderhuis, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Côte d’Ivoire, between the pan-African bank, represented by Mr. Paul-Harry Aithnard, Managing Director of Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire and Regional Executive Director for the WAEMU zone, and Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners (ESP), responsible for implementing the program in Côte d’Ivoire, represented by Mr. Teddy Roux, Director for West Africa.

By welcoming Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire into our extended family, Orange Corners strengthens its support and services for young agricultural entrepreneurs. Through its Agriculture Desk (Ag Desk), Ecobank joins this mission to address the critical challenges of the cocoa and horticulture value chains, while integrating the issues of innovation, sustainability, and local transformation.

This partnership specifically aims to:

– Facilitate access to tailored financial and digital solutions for innovative entrepreneurs.

– Support the capacity building of businesses supported by the program, particularly in the key cocoa and horticulture sectors.

– Build an inclusive and sustainable financing model geared towards concrete social and economic impact.

For Orange Corners Côte d’Ivoire, the integration of Ecobank further enhances the credibility of the Intelligent Capital™ model championed by ESP, which combines value creation services with access to financing, by including leading financial institutions. This synergy expands the program’s ambitions and results by transforming the high-quality support it offers into tangible outcomes through additional financing mechanisms.

“This partnership strengthens the Capital Intelligent™ model to create even more jobs and impact for young entrepreneurs in Côte d’Ivoire. It paves the way for concrete synergies between financial players and entrepreneurs, serving more competitive and value-creating agribusiness value chains in Côte d’Ivoire. It offers an alternative and a continuation of financing through the Orange Corners Innovation Fund (OCIF), a facility inherent to the program, with products tailored to the maturity level of entrepreneurial projects and businesses,” emphasizes Ms. Coralie Banzio Amichia, Manager of the Orange Corners Côte d’Ivoire program.

This collaboration aligns perfectly with Orange Corners’ 2026 strategy, which places the realization of entrepreneurial dreams and the promotion of community impact at the heart of its priorities.

“At Ecobank, we are convinced that the development of the agricultural sector requires a comprehensive approach, combining tailored financial solutions and integrated support to create value. This approach led to the creation of our Agri Desk. Our partnership with the Orange Corners program is the result of a shared vision of the challenges of developing the sector, the complementarity of our expertise, and our shared ambition to create a virtuous circle for the benefit of stakeholders in agricultural value chains,” stated Ms. Sarah DJAGOURI, Head of Ecobank’s Agribusiness Office.

For the Embassy of the Netherlands, “this new public-private partnership is a perfect example of our bilateral cooperation in support of Ivorian youth in the agribusiness sector, thereby creating new opportunities for sustainable employment throughout the country,” said H.E. Jeroen KELDERHUIS, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

About Orange Corners Côte d’Ivoire

Orange Corners Côte d’Ivoire, an initiative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, supports young Ivorian entrepreneurs through an integrated program encompassing training, mentorship, networking, and access to financing. Structured into several segments—from Soloagropreneur to Agrocatalyst, including Agroinnovator—the program covers the entire growth path of agricultural entrepreneurs. Orange Corners aligns with the mission of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Youth, which aims to strengthen the economic empowerment of young people, stimulate innovation, and foster the creation of sustainable jobs.

About ESP

ESP is a consulting and investment firm that has been working for over fifteen years to promote shared prosperity across the African continent by supporting entrepreneurs, stakeholders, and leaders, as well as the entrepreneurial ecosystem in which they operate. For the past 10 years, ESP has developed and implemented Intelligent Capital™ programs, supporting 6,000 entrepreneurs, contributing to the creation of 36,900 jobs, and operating in nearly 22 countries.

For more information, visit www.espartners.co

About Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire

Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire is a subsidiary of the Ecobank Group, the leading independent pan-African banking group, whose parent company is Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI).

Through its Agriculture Desk (Ag Desk), it deploys tailored solutions to support the structural transformation of Ivorian agriculture.

The Ecobank Group employs more than 13,000 people serving approximately 32 million customers in the retail, commercial, and corporate banking sectors across 33 African countries. The Group offers a full range of banking products, services, and solutions, including bank and deposit accounts, cash management, advisory services, trading operations, securities trading, and wealth management.

For more information, visit www.ecobank.com.

Press Contact:

Mohamed Sidibé, Communications Officer, Orange Corners

Email: msidibe@espartners.co

Coriet Adou

Head of Communications, Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire

+225 0720573555

cadou@ecobank.com