Koutiala

Koutiala, in Minianka country about 140 km north of Sikasso city, is the seat of its own Region and Cercle and one of Mali's most industrialised towns. It was founded in the 16th century by members of the Coulibaly family from the Bamana kingdom of Ségou. Under French colonial rule Koutiala grew into a centre of cotton production — commercial export began in 1950 — and it remains the heartland of Malian cotton, sometimes called the country's "white gold capital," accounting for roughly a third of Mali's seed-cotton output. The town hosts major processing operations including the Compagnie malienne pour le développement du textile (CMDT) and the cotton-oil producer HUICOMA, making it the second-most industrial city in Mali, though the sector has stagnated somewhat since the 1980s.

By Plane

The nearest airport is Bamako (BKO IATA).

By Road

Koutiala lies on the main road about 140 km north of Sikasso.

• CMDT cotton ginning operations — Koutiala's cotton-processing industry is the defining feature of the town's economy

• Sikasso — regional capital, 140 km south
• Bamako — national capital