As mobile subscriber numbers are nearing saturation, future growth will be driven by the expansion into new products and services. In anticipation, mobile operators are working to introduce value-added services and improve overall network quality. In the meantime, operators are working to expand their infrastructure networks ahead of the switch to 3G. The current absence of 3G services means that the…
Construction has been at the heart of government plans for economic development, with the expansion of energy and transport infrastructure intended to help realise the goal of diversifying the economy. The government seeks to generate over $13bn in infrastructure investments by 2016. The high cost of construction materials, limited transport infrastructure and delays on payments from the public sector…
While Gabon has a well-established niche in the global mining market as a key manganese exporter, its ambition to significantly expand exploration is generating strong interest from junior miners. With mining accounting for 6.3% of GDP and 6% of exports in 2012, according to the African Development Bank, there is potential for growth. The implementation of a new mining code in late 2013 is set to revise…
Gabon aims to significantly increase its domestic food security by 2020, while also working to expand its cash crop exports. An integral part of efforts to diversify the economy away from dependence on oil, successful implementation of its agricultural strategy will have a major impact on its balance of payments and generate significant employment growth. The government has initiated a wide-ranging…
As with many of Africa’s emerging markets, a number of challenges face Gabon’s insurance sector, including low insurance awareness, a small domestic client base and declining oil production. And yet the Gabonese market remains one of the largest in the sub-region, and it is set to expand in the coming years as the demand for personal insurance lines increases. Despite its modest size, the local…
The Central African Stock Exchange (Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières d’Afrique Centrale, BVMAC), headquartered in Libreville, is one of two regional bourses – both of which are located in CFA zones – on the African continent. The past few years have seen only occasional activity on the bourse, in spite of the region’s improving headline growth and the sizeable expansion plans of some…
While Gabon’s banking sector is one of the more developed in the Economic Community of Central African States, penetration lags behind its sub-Saharan African peers. Banking assets accounted for 21% of GDP in 2012, according to the IMF, while the private sector’s ratio of credit to GDP stood at 11% (19% of non-oil GDP). As of April 2013 there were just over 266,000 accounts for 1.5m people. Yet…
The past 40 years of oil production have turned this small but strategically positioned Central African state into an upper middle-income economy. The country’s extractive industries are sizeable by global standards, with oil, timber and manganese being key exports. Following the 2008-09 financial crisis, GDP growth provided evidence of a recovery, reaching 7% in 2011 and 5% in 2012, according to…
Located on the equator, Gabon is at the heart of the world’s second-largest rainforest. The country has an abundance of natural resources and is the fourth-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa, at around 250,000 barrels per day. Gabon is also Africa’s second-largest manganese producer and contains significant iron ore deposits along with uranium, gold, rare earth minerals and diamonds. Relative…
In English Avec la récente ratification du Programme Détaillé pour le Développement Agricole en Afrique (PDDAA), le Gabon se rapproche de son objectif d’augmentation de la production dans l’un des secteurs déclarés prioritaires par le gouvernement. Lancé en 2003 par le Nouveau Partenariat pour le Développement de l’Afrique (NEPAD), le PDDAA est un programme de développement de l’Union…
