Field report · Abidjan

The Cocoa Bridge Alliance at the 10th National Cocoa and Chocolate Days (JNCC 2026)

Name: Cocoa Innovation & Derivatives Summit (CIDS 2027)
Start: 2027
Location: Connecticut Convention Center

From 1 to 3 September 2026, at the Parc des Expositions of Abidjan Port-Bouët, the Cocoa Bridge Alliance took part in the anniversary edition of the JNCC, organized by the Conseil du Café-Cacao under the theme “Youth and the cocoa farming of the future”.

Edition

10th edition (since 2014)

Dates

1–3 September 2026

Venue

Parc des Expositions, Abidjan Port-Bouët

Theme

“Youth and the cocoa farming of the future”

Organizers

Conseil du Café-Cacao, under the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Production

Attendance

Around 1,500 producers and more than 1,000 official guests

CBA delegation

Represented on the ground by its West Africa leadership

Clovis Delacroix N'Dete

Côte d'Ivoire Representative

Led CBA's presence at the exhibition, meeting cooperatives, chocolate makers, exporters and institutional stakeholders.

Bertin Yao Niamien

Regional Director — Institutional Relations, Advocacy & Resource Mobilization (West Africa)

Handled institutional contacts and advocacy around cocoa value addition and the preparation of CIDS 2027.

Meet the full team →

In pictures

Three days at the Parc des Expositions

Video: atmosphere of the 10th JNCC in Abidjan, September 2026.

Cocoa Bridge Alliance delegation in discussion at an exhibitor stand during JNCC 2026 in Abidjan — Institutional meetings at the exhibition — building bridges between Ivorian actors and CIDS 2027.

Cooperative representative welcoming visitors at a cocoa stand during JNCC 2026 — Cooperatives at the heart of the value chain: exchanges with producer organizations.

Cocoa pods, chocolate bars and cocoa spreads presented on a cooperative stand at JNCC 2026 — Locally processed products: chocolate, spreads and cocoa-honey blends made in Côte d'Ivoire.

Assortment of cocoa-coated products and confectionery derived from Ivorian cocoa at JNCC 2026 — Derivative products — exactly the value-addition frontier CBA works on.

Ivorian chocolate maker stand with a chocolate fountain during JNCC 2026 in Abidjan — Ivorian chocolate makers showing that origin can also mean finished products.

Official poster of the 10th Journées Nationales du Cacao et du Chocolat, 1-3 September 2026 — Official poster of the 10th edition — “Cocoa, our wealth”.

What we take away

From Abidjan to Hartford: the same agenda of value at origin

Generational renewal

With ageing farmers and orchards, the 2026 theme placed youth at the centre. CBA's academic and cooperative pillars address the same challenge: training the next generation of cocoa innovators.

Local processing

Côte d'Ivoire continues to raise its grinding and processing ambitions. CBA advocates going further than grinding — towards cosmetics, nutraceuticals, pharma and biomaterials made at origin.

Road to CIDS 2027

Contacts made in Abidjan with cooperatives, chocolate makers, institutions and technical partners feed directly into the preparation of the Cocoa Innovation & Derivatives Summit in Connecticut.

Discover CIDS 2027 Become a partner All news

Useful links

Learn more about JNCC 2026

Official and press sources

Also on this site

External links open in a new tab. CBA participated as a visitor and observer during JNCC 2026.

Event data (dates, theme, venue, organizers and attendance) as publicly reported by the Conseil du Café-Cacao and Ivorian media coverage of the 10th JNCC, September 2026. Photographs and video: Cocoa Bridge Alliance delegation.