Hon. Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly is Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy. First appointed on 20 April 2022, he was reappointed in the government announced on 23 January 2026 under Prime Minister Robert Beugré Mambé. His portfolio covers mining, hydrocarbons and electricity at a time of growth in national oil and gas output, led by the offshore Baleine field, which began production in August 2023 and started its second phase in December 2024.

Sangafowa-Coulibaly studied at the Faculty of Sciences and Techniques of the University of Abidjan and at the Institut National Supérieur de l’Enseignement Technique (INSET), where he specialised in accounting and finance, and later completed an executive education programme at Harvard Business School. In 1992 he founded an international trading company exporting tropical products to North Africa and Europe, which received the COLEACP award for best mango brand six years later.

He joined the Ministry of Agriculture in 2003 as Deputy Chief of Staff, leading a rescue programme for the cotton sector and heading the file that secured the transfer of the International Cocoa Organization’s headquarters from London to Abidjan. As Minister of Agriculture from March 2010 to 2019, he oversaw the National Agricultural Investment Programme (PNIA) and reforms of the coffee and cocoa sector, and was elected President of the 29th FAO Regional Conference for Africa, serving from 2016 to 2018. After returning to the private sector, he was recalled to government in 2022. He has been elected Member of Parliament for Korhogo Commune since 2011.

Sangafowa-Coulibaly’s focus as minister includes attracting investment to Côte d’Ivoire’s sedimentary basin, including from national private companies, developing mining with local content and employment benefits, and expanding power generation: he has noted that the country tripled its electricity capacity over 15 years and aims to double it again over the next 15. He also advocates energy security for Africa and industrialisation built on energy and human capital.