Gabon youth employment project audit: African Development Bank's 55 billion CFA franc initiative ten years on

The project, known as the Project to Strengthen Capacity for Youth Employability and Improve Social Protection RCEJPS, was approved on December 9, 2016. The AfDB provided a loan of 84.63 million euros, approximately 55.5 billion CFA francs, with the total cost nearing 61.7 billion CFA francs including Gabon's contribution. Current data from the AfDB indicates that 65% of the project's activities have been completed, and 56.2% of the AfDB's funding, or 40.448 million units of account, has been disbursed.

The project has surpassed some objectives, such as integrating 350 job seekers against an initial target of 250, equipping four partner institutions as planned, and training 247 instructors and agents compared to a target of 200. However, other key objectives show zero progress, including the development or revision of 80 training programs, the incubation and funding of 50 young entrepreneurs, the financing of 30 business promoters, and the training for 80 income-generating activities and SMEs/VSEs. These zero values may indicate uncompleted activities or unupdated information.

Procurement activities are still ongoing, with an international tender launched on April 24, 2026, for equipment and furniture for vocational training centers, technical high schools, and health school