Yaya Ouattara is CEO of GUDE-PME, Côte d'Ivoire's integrated support platform for small and medium-sized enterprises. Before taking on this role, he spent years at the International Trade Centre in Geneva, working directly with more than 5,000 SMEs across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, experience he has since applied to building local impact at home.
Since 2022, Ouattara has led initiatives that expanded capacity-building support to more than 14,000 SMEs and helped over 3,000 enterprises gain access to capital, working through subsidiary organizations and partnerships with institutions such as the African Development Bank and the French Development Agency.
His approach to leadership prioritizes inclusive growth, with particular attention to women and youth entrepreneurs in underserved regions, combining global best practices with locally grounded solutions. Ouattara treats digital platforms and data-driven decision-making as core tools, framing SME empowerment as inseparable from broader community and economic resilience across West Africa.
