By Firmain Eric Mbadinga
Modeste Codjo Bessanh's cup of joy runneth over. And it isn't just because his native Côte d'Ivoire won the just-concluded 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in the final.
In a tournament of thrills and spills that saw several top-ranked teams fail and underdogs make a mark, the most consistent performer was off the pitch.
Bessanh's car rental business in Côte d'Ivoire's economic hub, Abidjan, was one of them.
From January 13 to February 11, AFCON was an opportunity for businesses large and small to reap the benefits of football's universal appeal and the interest generated by the continent's most prominent and awaited tournament.
"AFCONS was such a spectacle! I believe Côte d’Ivoire could even host the World Cup," Bessanh tells TRT Afrika. "My agency managed to rent out almost all our vehicles to the numerous journalists who flocked to the country for the duration of the event. Personally, everything went well."
Bessanh, who owns a fleet of around ten SUVs and saloons, is estimated to have earned between CFA 40,000-100,000 a day as rent for each vehicle.
Businesses did just as well in the other four cities that hosted the tournament alongside Abidjan.
A long-term proposition
Dr Al Kitenge, an economic strategist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, says the impact events like AFCON can have on the local economy should not be measured only in immediate profits.
"When a country bids for the right to host a large international event, sports or otherwise, it is a calculative effort that entails extraordinary activity behind the scenes with long-term economic implications," he explains.
"There are the financial flows that come with accreditation, room and restaurant occupancy, and other spin-offs. This is directly linked to the demand from these large structures for small producers and suppliers. So, we can see that it trickles down to the roots."
Major events like AFCON also trigger the law of supply and demand, resulting in benefits to the market for goods and services in the host countries, irrespective of whether the events are sporting, economic, or cultural.
Fervour with local flavour
In Anoumabo, one of Abidjan's more popular districts, Iliasse Dayamba seized the opportunity to offer his catering services to some of the thousands of spectators who had converged on Côte d’Ivoire for AFCON 2023.
Dayamba discovered during the tournament that footfall and revenue generated at his restaurant, Au Burkina 3, depended on the presence and performance of specific teams. Business invariably boomed when the Burkina Faso "Stallions" and the Côte d’Ivoire "Elephants" were playing.
"We had customers from several countries. The Ivorians constituted the largest group, but there were also fans from other countries. On match days, my earnings would be the highest, especially through the sale of drinks," he tells TRT Afrika.
Like any enterprising person doing business, Dayamba knew he needed to make the opportunity count.
"In this situation, the most important thing to do is promote local products and services. You need to focus on marketing the region so people can discover the asset's value," he says.
Besides service-sector establishments like those run by Bessanh and Dayamba, AFCON 2023 generated opportunities for a range of businesses — from food to gadget stalls — in the makeshift commercial zones around the stadiums called "Villages de la CAN".
The Côte d'Ivoire government is estimated to have invested US $1.5 in organising the 34th edition of AFCON, spending the bulk of the money on building infrastructure, including constructing or renovating six football stadiums.
Building for the future
So, does infrastructure built for a specific event yield benefits on the same scale once it is over?
Dr Kitenge believes each country does its homework on converting such investment into profitable infrastructure after meeting the immediate target of hosting a particular event in the most efficient manner possible.
"For instance, when you look at the Olympic Village built in London in 2012, everything was resold afterwards. They built stadiums specifically for the Olympic Games, but in such a way that these could be dismantled later to be redeployed on a smaller scale," he tells TRT Afrika.
"When you create infrastructure for a short-term purpose, you must have a post-event usage plan. And that depends on each country's ability to reorganise."
