BIOGRAPHY

Souleymane DIARRASSOUBA is Minister of Commerce, Industry and Promotion of SMEs following the ministerial reshuffle that occurred on Wednesday April 20, 2022. He was appointed Minister of Commerce, Crafts and Promotion of SMEs on January 11, 2017 On March 1, 2018, he was also entrusted with the responsibility of the Department of the Ministry of Industry and Mines, of which he is responsible. interim, following the taking up of office of Minister Jean-Claude Brou at the ECOWAS commission.

Until his entry into the Government on January 11, 2017, Souleymane DIARRASSOUBA was the Managing Director of the Atlantic Business International (ABI) group, a subsidiary of the Banque Centrale Populaire du Maroc group. ABI is the financial, control and development holding company for the Banque Atlantique & Assurance entities in sub-Saharan Africa and is positioned as the third banking group in UEMOA.

Minister Souleymane DIARRASSOUBA previously held the position of Managing Director of Atlantic Financial Group (Groupe Banque Atlantique) and Banque Atlantique Côte d’Ivoire (BACI), then as a senior executive in several banking establishments, notably SIB (Crédit Lyonnais ), COBACI, ECOBANK and VERSUS BANK.

His leadership and mastery of the national and regional banking industry allowed him to be elected by his peers as President of the Federation of Professional Associations of Banks and Financial Establishments of UEMOA (FAPBEF-UEMOA) and President of the Professional Association of Banks and Financial Establishments of Côte d’Ivoire (APBEF-CI). He was also 1st Vice-President of the General Confederation of Enterprises of Côte d’IVOIRE (CGECI).

On the political level, Souleymane DIARRASSOUBA was Vice-Governor of the Autonomous District of Yamoussoukro, his hometown and Deputy Secretary General of the Rally of Republicans (RDR) in charge of Commerce and Crafts.

After holding the position of Regional Coordinator of the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) of the Autonomous District of Yamoussoukro, he was elected Deputy of the commune of Yamoussoukro in 2021. He was also RHDP Supervisor for the 2022 edition of the Revision of the electoral list (RLE) of the Autonomous District of Yamoussoukro.

Holder of an Executive PhD from Paris Dauphine University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Banking from the Conservatoire National des Arts & Métiers de Paris, a DESS Audit and management control from the National University of Côte d ‘Ivoire in partnership with the University of Paris XII Val De Marne, and a Master’s degree in Management Sciences, Finance option from the National University of Côte d’Ivoire, Souleymane DIARRASSOUBA is also certified “Advanced Management Program” from MDE Business School in partnership with IESE Business School in Barcelona.

In terms of distinctions, Minister Souleymane DIARRASSOUBA is Commander of the National Order of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Officer of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Officer of the Order of Solidarity and of social cohesion of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Officer of the Order of Agricultural Merit of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Civil Service.

His dynamism at the head of ABI (Banque Atlantique) led to this banking group being named the best bank in West Africa in 2016 by the African Bankers Awards. Before this distinction, Souleymane DIARRASSOUBA was recognized as best banker of the year 2015, during the 6th edition of “Builders of the Economy” and received in 2014 the Fadel Prize for best Manager in the banking sector.