President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema officially opened Gabon’s very first national data center yesterday, located within the Nkok Special Economic Zone. This pivotal infrastructure was brought to fruition by ST Digital Data Center Services. The inauguration ceremony also featured the signing of a significant Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Digital Economy, Digitalization and Innovation and ST Digital, establishing a framework to bolster Gabonese startups.
This dual strategic move is designed to fortify local data hosting capabilities, enhance national cybersecurity, and accelerate the country’s broader digital transformation. Adhering to rigorous international benchmarks with its Tier III certification, this state-of-the-art facility is set to significantly upgrade national data storage capacities, facilitate advanced cloud computing services, and provide essential support to both government administrations and private enterprises. Crucially, it underscores Gabon’s commitment to digital sovereignty. Through this initiative, the head of state clearly demonstrates his resolve to steer Gabon toward a robust and independent digital future.
The collaborative agreement ensures that emerging businesses will gain privileged access to professional digital services. Startups selected for this program will benefit from a dedicated virtual machine, 120 GB of SSD storage, 8 GB of RAM, four virtual processors, a public IP address, an SSL certificate, comprehensive technical support, and competitive preferential rates.
The Ministry’s responsibilities include identifying eligible beneficiaries, actively promoting the local hosting of digital assets, and spearheading awareness campaigns on critical cybersecurity practices. Laïka Mba, the General Director of ST Digital, articulated the profound significance of this development, stating that “possessing a national data center in Gabon represents far more than a technological achievement; it is a definitive act of sovereignty.” She further emphasized that “it serves as the sacred assurance that our nation’s secrets, public records, essential services, and citizen data will no longer rely on external, foreign infrastructures.”
ST Digital is committed to guaranteeing the utmost security for all hosted data and providing continuous technical assistance. This strategic public-private partnership is expected to catalyze the development of innovative digital solutions conceived and hosted entirely within Gabon, thereby cultivating an environment highly conducive to innovation, job creation, and increased investment across the nation.