Meet Koné Dossongui: Ivorian founder of Atlantic Group, pan-African empire across banking, industry, mining

Koné Dossongui, one of Côte d’Ivoire’s most prominent entrepreneurs, has spent more than four decades building one of Côte d’Ivoire’s most diversified business empires, spanning banking, insurance, agriculture, cement, telecommunications, technology and mining.

The founder of Atlantic Group has transformed from an agricultural entrepreneur and banker into a Pan-African industrial investor, with businesses and financial interests stretching across West Africa, Central Africa and the Indian Ocean.

From agriculture to banking

His latest expansion into gold mining could become one of the most consequential chapters of that journey. In 2025, Atlantic Group agreed to acquire the Tongon gold mine in northern Côte d’Ivoire from Barrick Mining for up to $305 million. The transaction comprises approximately $192 million in upfront consideration and as much as $113 million in contingent payments.

Tongon is an established producing mine rather than an exploration-stage asset. It was forecast to produce up to approximately 140,000 ounces of gold in 2025, with an exploration package covering about 2,136 square kilometres. The acquisition underscores Dossongui’s strategy of moving beyond financial services and gaining direct exposure to strategic African assets.

Born in 1950 in northern Côte d’Ivoire, Dossongui trained as an agronomist before moving into public-sector and entrepreneurial roles. His early business interests included agriculture, agro-processing and food distribution. In 1990, he acquired four bakeries in Côte d’Ivoire, later developing the Centrages network to approximately 70 establishments. His biggest transformation came through banking.

Dossongui expanded the Banque Atlantique franchise across several West African markets before entering a strategic partnership with Morocco’s Banque Centrale Populaire in 2012. BCP eventually increased its stake to 65%, allowing Dossongui to redeploy capital into a broader business strategy.

Rebuilding a Pan-African financial empire

Dossongui later rebuilt his financial-services ambitions through Atlantic Financial Group (AFG).

AFG expanded through acquisitions, including BNP Paribas subsidiaries in Mali, Gabon and Comoros, while establishing or acquiring banking operations in Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar and Guinea.

The group also expanded into microfinance, insurance and technology. Its acquisition of a majority stake in Access Holding further broadened its financial footprint through businesses including Access Bank Liberia, Access Bank Madagascar, AB Microfinance Bank Nigeria, Access Bank Rwanda and Access Bank Zambia, subject to regulatory approvals.

From finance to mining

Dossongui’s industrial portfolio has expanded alongside AFG. Atlantic Group operates interests in cocoa processing, cement, agriculture, telecommunications and other industries.

Atlantic Cocoa’s Cameroon facility has an annual processing capacity of approximately 48,000 tonnes, with plans announced in 2025 to increase capacity to about 64,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, AFG has moved deeper into mining finance. In April 2026, the group announced a CFA31.5 billion ($55.43 million), financing agreement with Montage Gold for its Koné gold project in Côte d’Ivoire. The pattern is becoming clear: AFG provides financial infrastructure while Atlantic Group builds ownership of strategic industrial and natural-resource assets.

For Dossongui, the Tongon acquisition represents more than a mining investment. It marks the latest step in a decades-long strategy of acquiring, developing and integrating strategic African businesses into a diversified Pan-African financial and industrial ecosystem.