Policy measures taken by successive governments to introduce sustainable forestry management and to develop the downstream timber industry are widely expected to offer long-term environmental and economic benefits. However, in the short term they have delivered a blow to the forestry industry, which is still feeling the effects, particularly the...
The country is home to the Stock Exchange of Central Africa (Bourse des Valeurs Mobilières d’Afrique Centrale, BVMAC), which has been operational since 2008 and is the regional exchange for the CEMAC economic bloc. The market has seen only light activity, in particular as regards equity listings. In its 2014 Article IV Consultation for Gabon...
Mobile money has been a hot topic since Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom launched its M-PESA money transfer system in 2007. The initiative subsequently saw astonishing success, and now by some accounts is responsible for cash transfers equivalent in volume to roughly one-third of Kenya’s GDP. However, replicating that immediate success elsewhere...
Although penetration of insurance services has typically been higher in Gabon than most surrounding markets, the country has shown that room for growth remains. Securing new insurance customers has sometimes been challenging for providers, due to low market awareness, particularly among low-income earners, and insufficiently developed...
Driven by increasing corporate activity on the back of steady headline growth, Gabon has developed a comparatively large insurance sector, despite the country’s small population. Much of the sector’s growth has been linked to industrial development and expansion of infrastructure in recent years, mostly encouraged by the government’s Emerging...
Gabon’s ambitious campaign to diversify its economy – now in its fifth year – may have gotten an unexpected boost from the manoeuvring of some of the world’s biggest oil producers. Following the OPEC meeting in November 2014, oil prices plunged. A push by OPEC member states to maintain high production levels in the face of growing US shale...
Stay updated on how some of the world’s most promising markets are being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and what actions governments and private businesses are taking to mitigate challenges and ensure their long-term growth story continues.
Register now and also receive a complimentary 2-month licence to the OBG Research Terminal.
Register Here×