For a quarter-century following independence, Cameroon was one of the most prosperous countries in Africa. Thanks to its oil resources and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past years the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) signed recently by the IMF and Government of Cameroon calls for greater macroeconomic planning and financial accountability; privatization of most of 100 enterprises; elimination of state marketing board monopolies on the export of cocoa, certain coffees, and cotton; privatization and price competition in the banking sector; implementation of the 1992 labor code; and political liberalization to boost investment. France is Cameroon's main trading partner and source of private investment and foreign aid. But Cameroon also has an investment guaranty agreement and a bilateral treaty with the United States.

The Congo is the world's largest producer of cobalt ore, and a major producer of copper and industrial diamonds. It has significant deposits of tantalum, which is used in the fabrication of electronic components in computers and mobile phones. In 2002, tin was discovered in the east of the country, but, to date, mining has been on a small scale. Katanga Mining Limited, a London-based company, owns the Luilu Metallurgical Plant, which has a capacity of 175,000 tons of copper and 8,000 tons of cobalt per year, making it the largest cobalt refinery in the world. After a major rehabilitation program, the company restarted copper production in December 2007 and cobalt production in May 2008. In 2007, The World Bank decided to grant the Democratic Republic of Congo up to $1.3 billion in assistance funds over the next three years.

Gabon is more prosperous than most nearby countries, with a per capita income of four times the average for Sub-Saharan Africa. This is in large part due to offshore oil production. Gabon was a full member of OPEC from 1975 to 1995. It is an exporter of manganese, iron, and wood. Uranium mines near Franceville were shut down in 2001 with the arrival of new competition on the global market and there is work in progress to re-open them. Plans to exploit rich iron deposits north-east of Makokou are foreseen to begin in 2012. France and the IMF have provided further loans and aid in exchange for the implementation of changes to the economy. Gabon's principal trading partners are the United States, China, and Russia for exports while importing mainly from France.

The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 50% of GDP and employs 85% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Ghana remains one of the more economically sound countries in all of Africa. Gold, timber, cocoa, diamond, bauxite, and manganese exports are major sources of foreign exchange. An oilfield which is reported to contain up to 3 billion barrels (480,000,000 m3) of light oil was discovered in 2007. Oil exploration is ongoing and, the amount of oil continues to increase.

Diversification of agriculture for export, and encouragement of foreign investment, has made Côte d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the tropical African states. Despite attempts of the government to diversify the economy, it is still largely dependent on agriculture and related activities. Côte d'Ivoire is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm oil. After several years of lagging performance, the Ivorian economy is reviving thanks to several factors: the improved prices of cocoa and coffee, the growth in nontraditional primary exports such as pineapples and rubber, the limited trade and banking liberalization, the offshore oil and gas discoveries, and the generous external financing and debt rescheduling by multilateral lenders and France.

Senegal's economy is starting to be one of the fastest growing in the world. After seeing its economy retracted in nineties, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with real growth in GDP averaging 5% annually during the past 10 years. Private activity in Senegal now counts for 82 % of the GDP. The main industries are food processing, mining, cement, artificial fertilizer, chemicals, textiles, refining imported petroleum, and tourism. Exports include fish, chemicals, cotton, fabrics, groundnuts, and calcium phosphate. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff.