E-commerce in Gabon

E-commerce

Internet access

According to the Digital 2019 report for Gabon by Hootsuite and WeAreSocial, out of a population of 2.1 million people, 48% have access to the internet. The country has a reliable and not expensive internet service, and is the sixth most-connected country on the African continent (ICT). Gabon has recently developed an expanded fibre-optic network (with the support of the World Bank). 
In the country there are around 3 million mobile subscriptions, and 35% of the population are active social media users (and 93% of them login via mobile). The main mobile operators are Airtel, Gabon Telecom, Azur, Libertis and Moov.
The most popular web search engines in Gabon are Google (94.7%), Bing and Yahoo (2.8% and 1.9% respectively).

E-commerce market

E-commerce is still in its infancy in Gabon, as the country lacks the ICT and online payment infrastructures necessary to boost such sector.
According to the Digital 2019 report for Gabon by Hootsuite and WeAreSocial, 17% of the population purchases on the internet or pays its bills online, while only 5.9% of the population has a credit card.
Data from the B2C e-commerce index of the UN Conference on Trade and Development estimate that only 6% of the population shops online. However, the index ranks Gabon 104th out of 151 countries and 12th in the African continent for its readiness and capacity to support online trade.
Among the factors that hinder the growth of e-commerce there are logistic problems (due to the country’s territory and the poor infrastructure, especially outside bigger towns), a lack of confidence when purchasing online and the low penetration of online payment methods. In fact, almost the totality of online transactions are paid with cash on delivery, with a smaller share consisting of pick-up and payment in a showroom or physical shop. The main online payment services are those related with mobile phones, like Airtel money, Bicig Mobile, Mobicash, etc..
En effet, outre l’Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes (ARCEP), le Gabon s’est doté d’une Commission nationale de protection des données à caractère personnel (CNPDCP), autorité indépendante.
Among the main online platforms in the country are Gaboma Market, Enami, iShop241, BiaBia Market.
Facebook has an estimated 720,000 users, Linkedin 110,000 and Instagram 83,000. Companies are increasingly using Facebook or other social media for advertising.