Gabon, on the western coast of Africa, is one of the stable regimes in the continent, and leaders there have a vision of progress based on being both business- and environment-friendly. Liban Soleman is the president’s chief of staff of the government of Gabon. In this interview with Knowledge at Wharton, Soleman says there is enormous opportunity for investors in Gabon, and in Africa as a whole. Those who are interested only in exploiting natural resources, however, will meet with an unresponsive government and administration, he adds. An edited transcript of the conversation follows. Knowledge at Wharton: I’d like to start by chatting a little bit about the banking situation in Gabon. I’ve heard that in Africa, only 20% of the families have bank accounts. What’s the situation in Gabon? Liban Soleman: Particularly for Gabon, the situation is exactly as you stated. The banking system is regulated within a regional regulatory framework that’s linked with COBAC [La Commission Bancaire de l’Afrique Centrale].…