Who we are
Founded in 2022 by Nadi Saddy and Souleymane Sidibé, Surf Côte d’Ivoire promotes and develops surf culture in Côte d’Ivoire. It started with a film.
Assinie-Mafia, since 2022
The founders
Nadi Saddy
Founder · Director of The Rising Dawn
An Ivorian director, creative and entrepreneur whose work explores where the ocean, culture and identity meet. A surfer since childhood, he truly discovered surf culture while studying in San Diego, then came home convinced that surfing could be much more than a sport: a tool for social, cultural and environmental change.
He founded Diaraby, the first girls’ surf club in Côte d’Ivoire, and organised the country’s first international surf competition.
Souleymane Sidibé
Co-founder · Protagonist of The Rising Dawn
One of the pioneers of a new era of surfing in Côte d’Ivoire. He inspires young people to overcome inequality and cultural barriers in order to access the transformative power of surfing.
The crew
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Fayed Nouvian
Surf coach · Photographer and filmmaker
Grew up on the ocean in Mayotte and has coached in Martinique, Indonesia, France and across Africa. Precise in the water, patient on the sand.
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Nuits Balnéaires
Co-director of The Rising Dawn · Visual artist and poet
Develops a multidisciplinary practice rooted in photography, drawing from cinema, theatre, literature and poetry.
The association
200+ boards given to young surfers from coastal communities, Diaraby, the country’s first girls’ surf club, and the Africa Surf Tour in Assinie. The camp, the shop and the film all give back to it.