On 15 April 2026, the day after SIADE 2026 closed, the ECADSOL executive team sat down with the senior leadership of the Banque Nationale d'Investissement (BNI) at its Centre Intégré in Abidjan. It was a formal presentation to Côte d'Ivoire's national investment bank.
Who was in the room
BNI was represented by its Deputy Directors General, its Secretary General and members of its management committee. The full list of attendees appears in BNI's bulletin. ECADSOL was represented by our Founder and CEO, Boris Yao, and members of the executive committee.
A day focused on the diaspora
The session followed BNI's February 2026 mission to the United Kingdom, made at the invitation of Ivoire Pied-à-Terre, an association of Ivorians living in the UK. On the same day as our presentation, BNI signed a partnership agreement with that association to channel diaspora investment into structuring projects in Côte d'Ivoire.
The context mattered. ECADSOL is led by a UK-based team with deep roots in Côte d'Ivoire and West Africa, with our engineering base in Bristol. That connection between the UK and Côte d'Ivoire shaped much of the conversation.
What we presented
We introduced ECADSOL: who we are, how we work, and why we see Côte d'Ivoire as a strategic point of entry to the continent. We explained our engineering-authority model, in which capability is governed from the first requirement through to through-life support. We also discussed how our engineering and digital expertise could support BNI's work with the Ivorian diaspora in the United Kingdom, as BNI noted in its bulletin.
How BNI reported it
BNI recorded the meeting in its own bulletin, BNI News (Alerte, No. 22, 2026). The bank described ECADSOL as a Bristol-based company working in defence, security and technology, noted our interest in Côte d'Ivoire as a strategic point of entry, and acknowledged our offer to put our expertise at the bank's service to strengthen its diaspora reach and diversify its revenue.
We are grateful to BNI for receiving us and for reporting the meeting in its bulletin.
Why development finance matters to industrial capability
Industrial capability depends on more than engineering. It needs long-term finance, skilled people and support that lasts through the life of a system. National development banks often provide the patient capital that this kind of work requires. Côte d'Ivoire's Plan National de Développement 2026–2030 sets priorities that include industrialisation, employment and skills. These are the areas where engineering capability and development finance meet.
To discuss partnership, investment or industrial collaboration, contact us at info@ecadsol.com.
