In Gabon, no takaful insurer or Islamic window has been identified so far, yet the 2019 CIMA regulation already allows a Gabonese company to obtain a takaful licence or an extension of its existing licence to offer sharia-compliant insurance.
A 144.55 billion FCFA Gabonese market with no takaful offer
According to Ecofin, Gabonese insurers collected 144.55 billion FCFA in premiums in 2024, up from 135 billion the previous year. Life business grew by 11.9% and non-life by 5.5%, yet not a single takaful product was on sale.
The Direction Nationale des Assurances and FEGASA
Day-to-day supervision falls to the Direction Nationale des Assurances, part of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which works with the Gabonese federation of insurance companies, FEGASA. No dedicated official website for the DNA could be verified in our research.
Libreville under joint CRCA and national oversight
Like every member state of the Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets, Gabon shares supervision: the Regional Insurance Control Commission handles licensing, while the national administration monitors the companies based in Libreville and Port-Gentil on a daily basis.
Book IX of the CIMA Code as applied in Gabon
Regulation No. 003/CIMA/PCMA/PCE/2019, adopted on 10 October 2019 by the Council of Insurance Ministers, added a Book IX on takaful to the Code. It binds Gabon without any extra national law and separates general takaful from family takaful.
Dedicated company or window: the two routes in Article 903
Article 903 gives Gabonese investors two options: set up a company licensed exclusively for takaful, or let an established insurer add the activity through a licence extension. The second route, close to a window, often comes with an operator wakala fee.
A reported capital threshold of 3 billion FCFA
In October 2019, Atlas Magazine reported a minimum share capital of 3 billion FCFA for a takaful company. CIMA nonetheless lets each national supervisor adapt these rules to its market, which leaves the Gabonese DNA some room for judgement.
Two percent penetration: a brake and an opportunity
In 2016 Gabon had nine insurance companies and a penetration rate of roughly 2%, according to Gabonreview. Such low coverage leaves many uninsured households who might welcome a product built on a participants' fund, subject to licensing.
Local risk retention decided in October 2025
On 23 October 2025, Gabon's Council of Ministers adopted a draft decree on the local retention of insurance and reinsurance risks. Any future takaful operator would therefore need to align this requirement with a retakaful programme placed with compliant reinsurers.
CICA-RE and training for Gabonese insurers
CICA-RE, the joint reinsurer of the CIMA states, ran a webinar with the AlHuda Centre on the practical side of takaful and retakaful on 24 October 2024. Staff from Gabonese companies were among the target audience, since the session covered the whole zone.
The CORIS precedent as a reference for Libreville
Elsewhere in the zone, the CRCA granted a takaful authorisation to CORIS Assurance in Burkina Faso. That file shows the path a Gabonese insurer would follow: preparing the application, review by the regional commission, then a supervised launch of compliant products.
Getting covered today with a Gabonese conventional policy
With no local offer, motor third-party liability remains compulsory across the CIMA zone and must be bought from an insurer licensed in Gabon. For other needs, read the investment clauses carefully and favour cover without any interest-bearing savings component.
Comparing with neighbouring Cameroon and Congo
The Cameroonian market and that of neighbouring Congo fall under the same 2019 regulation. An expatriate or a company active in several Central African countries must check, country by country, whether a takaful licence exists before assuming regional cover.
How to find compliant cover in Gabon
- Ask the Direction Nationale des Assurances whether any Gabonese company has received a takaful licence or licence extension since 2019.
- Insist on seeing the CRCA opinion that explicitly mentions takaful activity, not merely the company's conventional licence.
- Read the stated management model, wakala or mudaraba, and the fatwa signed by the Gabonese operator's sharia committee.
- Compare the contribution, the operator's fee and the rule for sharing any surplus among participants before you sign.
- Until a local offer exists, take out at least the compulsory motor third-party liability with a licensed insurer in Libreville.
- If a loss occurs, report it in writing within the contractual deadline and keep the company's acknowledgement of receipt.
Price components of a future takaful offer in Gabon
| Item | Role in the contract | What makes it vary |
|---|---|---|
| Tabarru contribution | Donation to the participants' fund that pays claims | Type of risk, sum insured, claims history |
| Wakala fee | Operator's remuneration for management | Percentage set in the contract and approved by the sharia committee |
| Mudaraba share | Operator's return on investing the fund | Yield of available compliant investments |
| Distributable surplus | Underwriting surplus shared among participants | Claims experience for the year and required reserves |
| Deductible | Amount borne by the participant | Chosen cover and contribution level |
Documents needed for a policy in Gabon
- Valid Gabonese national identity card or passport
- Recent water or electricity bill as proof of address
- Vehicle registration certificate and driving licence for motor cover
- Land title or lease to insure a home in Libreville
- Medical questionnaire for family takaful cover
- Murabaha or ijara contract if an Islamic bank financed the asset
Common pitfalls for policyholders in Gabon
- Assuming a product sold as halal in Libreville is takaful when no CIMA licence extension or sharia committee has been checked.
- Buying a policy from a foreign intermediary not authorised in Gabon: in a dispute, neither the DNA nor the CRCA can step in.
- Dropping motor third-party liability while waiting for an Islamic product, which exposes you to penalties and personal debt after an accident.
- Accepting a promise of surplus distribution that appears neither in the general terms nor in the rules of the Gabonese fund.
- Mixing up a conventional insurer's takaful window with a dedicated takaful company, although Article 903 clearly separates the two statuses.
Your questions on takaful in Gabon
Is there a licensed takaful company in Gabon?
None was identified in the sources reviewed, whether a dedicated company or a window within an existing insurer. The legal framework has nonetheless existed since the 2019 CIMA regulation, so ask the DNA or the CRCA about any recent licences.
Does Gabon need to pass a law to allow takaful?
No. Regulations adopted by the CIMA Council of Insurance Ministers apply directly in member states. Book IX of the CIMA Code is therefore enough, although the Gabonese authority may adapt certain details to its market, as CIMA itself anticipated.
How much capital is needed to launch a takaful insurer in Libreville?
Atlas Magazine cited a minimum of 3 billion FCFA for a takaful company in 2019. An already licensed Gabonese insurer can skip that step by requesting a licence extension, but it must then organise takaful management in line with Book IX.
What can a Gabonese Muslim do while waiting for an offer?
Keep contracts to compulsory or essential cover, avoid savings products with a guaranteed rate and seek guidance from a trusted scholar. No compliant community mutual has been verified in Gabon, so be cautious with informal schemes.