Masters360 · Côte d'Ivoire · Yamoussoukro

Training Africa's cashew industry of tomorrow

The reference centre for innovation

The CITA is the technical school for the cashew sector in Côte d'Ivoire.

Location
Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire
Supervisory authority
Conseil Coton Anacarde Karité
Programmes
4 tracks, 3 levels
Mode of training
Practical, hands-on occupational skills, acquired both in the centre and at the workplace

Photograph: learners and a trainer at the shelling line

A technical school for the cashew sector

CITA in Yamoussoukro hosts the Côte d'Ivoire site of Masters360. The degree is awarded by CITA under its own accreditation; the Masters360 credential is issued alongside it.

Training is competency-based and dual: learners spend 35 to 45% of their time in the centre and 55 to 65% in the workplace. Taught in French, with shared modules in English.

The national ambition: local processing

The Conseil Coton Anacarde Karité, the regulatory body of the sector, has set the course: to process a growing share of the national harvest in Côte d'Ivoire and to add value to every part of the fruit. Skilled human capital is a condition of that ambition.

Not only the world's leading producer of cashew nuts, but also a leader in processing.

Mamadou Berté, Director General of the Conseil Coton Anacarde Karité, at the launch of SIETTA 2026. Translated from the French; wording to be confirmed by the Conseil.

43%
of national production processed locally in 2025, against 6.2% in 2016.
659,000 t
of raw cashew nuts processed in Côte d'Ivoire in 2025.
More than 40
processing units in operation nationally.
1 million t
national processing objective for 2030.

Source: CCAK Directorate General, launch of SIETTA 2026.

Whom the school serves

Industry and processors
Continuing training for employees; placement of learners in partner factories; a supply of certified personnel for the sector.
Students and young professionals
Vocational qualifications leading to employment in the processing industry, from the micro-credential to the diploma.
Producers and cooperatives
Technical guidance on harvest, drying, storage and quality; training in cooperative management and governance.
Cashew-producing countries
A regional vocation: the school is intended to welcome learners from neighbouring and emerging producing countries.

Awards and recognition

Examples to show the layout; replace with CITA's own distinctions.

Photograph: the cohort at the award ceremony

Pilot cohort · 2026

[Example] Best processing-line cohort

Awarded by a partner factory to the learners with the highest first-time quality pass rate.

Photograph: the product and its makers

Incubator team · 2025

[Example] Innovation prize, Cajou Foodtech

For a cashew-apple product developed in the on-site incubator.

Photograph: the trainer on the shelling line

Staff · 2025

[Example] Trainer of the year

Recognised by learners and partner factories for workplace mentoring.

Latest news

All news
  • 12 to 14 November 2026
    SIETTA 2026 in Abidjan: processing beyond the kernel
    Event
  • 12 June 2025
    Globalisation is nuts
    The Economist
  • April 2025
    In a Nutshell: Agri-processing Adds Value in Côte d'Ivoire's Cashew Industry
    World Bank

Next intake

Entry
1 September 2027
Applications open
1 September 2026
Applications close
30 November 2026
Decision
31 January 2027

Applications

Six short steps, saved as you go, from a phone. You will need a transcript, a degree certificate, an identity document and two referees.