Gabon partners with Guinea’s sonoce for agribusiness transformation
Libreville — The Gabonese government has taken a major step toward reshaping its economy by welcoming a delegation from the Guinean conglomerate SONOCO. President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema met with the group’s managing director, Abdoul Karim Diallo, turning a vision first outlined at the Kigali Forum into a concrete partnership.
The agreement signals a push for productive sovereignty, deeper African economic cooperation, and local wealth creation. Rather than a routine diplomatic encounter, the meeting epitomises Gabon’s drive to attract African investors as it diversifies beyond oil and raw materials.
Food sovereignty at the core
The agribusiness sector is no random choice. Food security remains a pressing challenge across Africa. Despite vast agricultural potential, many nations still rely heavily on imports. Gabon is no exception, importing a large share of its poultry products.
SONOCO’s project aims to change that. The company plans to replicate in Gabon an integrated model already successful in several other African countries, one that covers the entire value chain.
Specific components include local production of vegetable raw materials for animal feed, a modern feed mill, hatcheries, pullet farms, layer farms, broiler sites, and an international-standard slaughterhouse.
An industrial-scale poultry sector
This integrated approach tackles the fragmentation that often hinders agricultural competitiveness in Africa. By controlling every step, SONOCO hopes to boost economic efficiency and strengthen the entire poultry value chain.
The goals are ambitious: over 15 million broiler chickens annually, enough to make Gabon self-sufficient in poultry and slash imports drastically. The impact goes beyond food. In Guinea, SONOCO’s operations already generate nearly 4,000 jobs; the Gabonese project is expected to create several thousand direct and indirect positions in farming, animal husbandry, industrial processing, transport, logistics, and services.
This aligns with Libreville’s broader economic vision: transform raw materials locally, add value, and build a sustainable industrial base.
Africa investing in Africa
The partnership also carries geopolitical weight. As African states seek to strengthen intra-continental trade, cooperation between Libreville and Conakry reflects a new paradigm — Africa investing in Africa, sharing know-how, and building its own supply chains.
Administrative and land procedures have been launched with relevant ministries, and the first facilities should be operational within months. If the timeline holds, SONOCO’s project could become a flagship of Gabon’s revamped economic policy.
In a world marked by food uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, and the urgent need for local production, the initiative resonates far beyond Gabon. It embodies a growing continental conviction: Africa’s economic sovereignty depends not only on mines and infrastructure but on its ability to feed its own people. The Gabon–SONOCO partnership may well become a model of South–South cooperation driving Africa’s economic transformation.
