After 10 years of political unrest, Côte d’Ivoire has undergone reforms and is now one of the fastest growing economies in the region along with Nigeria and Ghana. Côte d’Ivoire is a member of the West African Economic Monetary Union (WAEMU), an eight-country customs and currency union in which all members use the CFA franc (CFA). Unlike the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), the WAEMU zone maintained strong economic growth (6.6 percent in 2017), driven by stronger economic activity in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. Côte d’Ivoire’s GDP grew on average by 9 percent a year between 2012 and 2015. Since President Alassane Ouattara was elected in 2010, the country has experienced a period of political stability, but many social challenges remain. According to the government’s most recent survey (ENSESI 2016), unemployment in Côte d’Ivoire is falling, from 6.1 percent in 2012 to only 2.8 percent in 2016. However, those figures are contested and other figures are put forward (70 to 90 percent), including by the African Development Bank (AfDB). This is because different indicators are being used and these indicators do or do not account for informal and precarious employment. The country also suffered from severe lack of infrastructure investment during the 10 years of the crisis. To reduce this deficit of infrastructure, the newly elected government established a Plan de Développement National for 2012-2015. Shortly after, the presidency launched its social housing program to tackle the affordable housing deficit in Côte d’Ivoire, emphasising the lack of supply. The Ivorian government has also made efforts to address the complex issues of affordable housing finance with different instruments to guarantee housing loans for low income households and informal workers. Despite the government’s active efforts to support both the supply and the demand sides of the housing value chain, the housing gap remains high. Most of the housing in Côte d’Ivoire is produced and financed informally and self-constructed. The insurance market is the largest of the region and grew by 8.6 percent in 2016, according to the Association of Insurance Companies (Association des sociétés d’assurance de Côte d’Ivoire, ASA-CI). The two public funds are the National Social Insurance Fund (CNPS) for the private sector and CGRAE for the public sector. In June 2017, CNPS acquired a stake in Eranove, which is active in the energy sector. Previously, CNPS also became a shareholder of two banks, Société Générale and Attijariwafa Bank, and several investment funds (Amethis, Yelen and AfricInvest). Côte d’Ivoire’s pension funds could invest in more real estate and housing projects. CNPS is increasingly diversifying its assets, including in the real estate and housing sectors with the construction of 32 residential buildings in Cocody totaling 384 units.