Abidjan
Abidjan processes 39% of WAEMU GDP through its lagoon port: cocoa prices doubled in 2024, Baleine oilfield producing 60,000 bbl/day by December.
Abidjan exists because the Ébrié Lagoon exists—a natural harbor on West Africa's Gulf of Guinea coast where French colonizers could build port infrastructure without fighting the surf. What began as a colonial trading post became the de facto capital of the world's largest cocoa producer, processing 39% of the West African Monetary Union's GDP through its wharves, banks, and markets.
The city demonstrates classic primate city dynamics, concentrating economic, political, and cultural functions to a degree that reshapes the entire national territory. Abidjan's port complex—rebuilt in 2023 with improved road connections to San Pedro—handles cocoa exports that doubled in price during 2024 (from $3,000 to $11,000 per metric ton). Every cocoa farmer's fortunes now flow through this gateway, making Abidjan the metabolic center of an economy experiencing 7% GDP growth.
Abidjan's economic boom reflects the new offshore oil story. Eni's Baleine Field discoveries since 2021 (2.5 billion barrels estimated) reached Phase 2 production in December 2024: 60,000 barrels and 70 million cubic feet of gas daily. The petroleum economy will increasingly flow through Abidjan's financial infrastructure, adding hydrocarbon revenues to cocoa and port income. By 2026, Abidjan may rival Dakar and Accra as West Africa's leading commercial hub—a trajectory shaped by lagoon geography, colonial path dependence, and commodity price explosions.