Gabon with an estimated population of only 2 million, has appealed to for foreign investment in the country’s under-developed Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.
The government feels that more investment in infrastructure, and more competitors in the country’s ICT market, will help bring cheaper and more reliable voice and internet services to its people.
Soilihi Ali Issilam dit Kemal, director for development in Gabon, said: “We have three telecommunications / cellular mobile companies in Gabon, but the main challenge is that the network is poor on the basis that the three companies are heavily concentrated in urban centres at the expense of rural areas.
“As that is not enough, Gabon has a slow internet penetration making e-learning difficult to fulfill. Wireless connection is still slow in Gabon, and we therefore invite interested companies to seize the opportunity.”
According to Mr. Kemal, only 15% of the country’s majority French-speaking people currently have access to the internet, the majority of which use mobile phones due to the high price of computers.
