Commercialisation of access to the long-awaited Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) fibre-optic cable, expected in early 2015, is expected to propel Gabon’s IT sector forward in the next year. The state has set ambitious goals for the sector, including the construction of a nationwide fibre-optic backbone, the creation of a network of IT parks, and the...
The long-awaited launch of 3G service in April 2014 is helping to open new avenues for growth in Gabon’s increasingly saturated mobile telecommunications sector. Subscriber numbers continue to rise, but with real penetration of nearly 100%, future growth will come from the introduction of higher-value services. With four operators serving a market of around 1.63m people...
The natural richesse of Gabon is not limited to oil and gas, and the country is turning to mining to help diversify away from its reliance on hydrocarbons, which still represent 45% of GDP and 80% of export receipts. The African Development Bank estimated that in 2012 that the mining sector contributed 6.3% of GDP and 6% of exports, though estimates from the Ministry of...
Like many countries in Africa, Gabon’s economy has largely developed on the back of its natural resources, primarily oil, minerals and timber. Most of these are still exported in raw form, bringing limited economic benefit to the country. However, the industrial sector – and the revenues and jobs it creates – is a focal point for the government’s development plans, with...
As in most sub-Saharan markets, the retail sector has traditionally been dominated by small grocery stores, markets and street sellers in Gabon. However, large-scale retailing took off in the 1990s and continues to expand, thanks in large part to not only headline growth rates, but also to rising household consumption among middle and upper-middle class segments, where...
According to African Development Bank estimates, Gabon’s mining sector is the second-highest-contributing industry after oil and gas, providing 6.3% of GDP and 6% of export receipts in 2012. Yet its continued reliance on manganese and gold leaves a number of potential avenues underexploited. The government aims to quadruple the sector’s contribution to 25% of GDP by 2025...
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