Libreville, July 11, 2026 – The future of Gabon’s industrial transformation is being shaped not just in boardrooms or government offices, but in classrooms and university labs across the country.

The third edition of the Yam’NA program, jointly launched by Eramet Comilog and SETRAG, represents a significant step in this direction. Beyond the announcement of fifty new scholarships for Gabonese high school graduates lies a much broader ambition: cultivating the skills that will drive the country’s industrial evolution in the coming decades.

Officially inaugurated on July 10 in Libreville, this latest iteration builds on the program’s 2024 foundation within Eramet’s Beyond initiative and its “Act for Positive Mining” social responsibility strategy. Since its launch, nearly fifty Gabonese students have already benefited from support to pursue higher education within the country.

The addition of SETRAG as a partner in this third edition marks a new chapter, expanding the program’s national reach by linking Gabon’s mining sector with its most critical infrastructure – the railway system – in a shared mission to invest in Gabonese human capital.

Preparing for careers that don’t exist yet

For generations, African extractive economies have exported raw materials while importing technical expertise for their transformation. Gabon is now working to reverse this pattern.

The fifty new scholarships for the 2026-2027 academic year will target sectors identified as crucial for the country’s future. Priority areas include metallurgy, steel production, industrial chemistry, agri-food, agroforestry, and green economy professions – fields that will shape Gabon’s industrial landscape in the years ahead.

This strategic shift goes beyond mere job placement. It’s about developing the engineers, technicians, metallurgists, environmental specialists, industrial process experts, and mid-level managers who will tomorrow drive projects transforming Gabon’s manganese, iron, timber, and agricultural products.

In today’s world of energy transition and fierce competition for strategic minerals, simply possessing resources is no longer sufficient. Countries must now cultivate the capabilities to transform these resources locally and capture their economic value.

Investing in economic sovereignty

The Yam’NA program targets Gabonese youth under 25 who passed their baccalaureate exams on the first attempt and wish to pursue technical, industrial, or environmental studies in Gabon. Applications are open from July 8 to 28, 2026.

While financial support is central, the program’s deeper goal is aligning higher education with real economic needs. This challenge confronts many African economies: companies struggle to find specialized talent while graduates face barriers entering saturated fields with little connection to emerging industrial demands.

The partnership between Eramet Comilog and SETRAG offers a concrete response to this structural issue. As Gabon’s largest private employer in the Haut-Ogooué region with nearly 3,500 direct jobs through its Comilog and SETRAG subsidiaries, Eramet remains a key economic player in Gabon and the subregion.

SETRAG operates the 648-kilometer Transgabonais railway, connecting inland mining zones to Owendo port and transporting nearly nine million tons of goods and hundreds of thousands of passengers annually.

The development battle is now about skills

Africa is entering a new phase of economic development where the central question is no longer infrastructure or investment, but the available talent to drive industrial change. In this global competition, countries that succeed will likely be those transforming their youth into engines of value creation.

The Yam’NA program embodies this long-term vision. By steering students toward local transformation careers and green economy professions, Gabon aims to anticipate rather than react to tomorrow’s industrial needs.

The goal is clear: cultivating a generation capable not just of extracting resources, but transforming them, adding value, and creating sustainable economic sovereignty. Application details and eligibility criteria are available on the Yam’NA program’s dedicated platform.