Vanessa Kuyo, a leader breaking gender barriers in construction and industrial maintenance in Ivory Coast

Vanessa Kuyo, an Ivoirian businesswoman, breaks stereotypes by running Kuyo Pipeline, one of the leading companies in construction and industrial maintenance in Côte d’Ivoire, a still male-dominated sector. She has succeeded in piloting major projects in the fields of energy, hydrocarbons, etc., such as the construction of a gas pipeline as part of the production launch of the Baleine deposit, one of the largest hydrocarbon discoveries in the Ivorian Mediterranean basin.

For nearly 10 years, Vanessa Kuyo has been able to establish herself in the construction and industrial maintenance sector, leading major projects in the fields of energy, hydrocarbons, mining and agri-food. It was in 2015 that she took over the management of the family business founded in 1981 and specializing in boilermaking, metal framework, pipeline construction (for the transport of gas or oil), industrial maintenance….

Committed to perpetuating the business, the company launched several major projects in Côte d’Ivoire under her leadership, including the Abidjan-Bouaké pipeline, the Abidjan-Jacqueville pipeline, the rehabilitation of gas network sections, the development of the Ivorian-Japanese friendship interchange, and the installation of an offshore air line in 2017 for Foxtrot International. Recently, as part of the commissioning of the “Baleine” deposit, one of the largest hydrocarbon deposits in Côte d’Ivoire, the company successfully built a gas pipeline of approximately 11 kilometers. This success earned her the rank of Knight of the National Order of Merit in 2023.

Vanessa Kuyo graduated from the Indo Asian Academy Degree College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Management and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from ISBM University in 2012. She first served as Deputy General Manager in charge of Corporate Affairs at Kuyo Pipeline in 2013. She also served as the General Manager of Digital Media Art Dimensions, a multimedia training institute, from 2012 to 2015.