International digital security company Gemalto plans to open an office in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, adding to offices and partnerships it has in Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa, according to ITWebAfrica.

A publicly-traded, Netherlands-based provider of smart cards, Gemalto is the world’s No. 1 maker of SIM cards, TheEconomist reports.

Gemalto described its planned new technology office in Abidjan as a hub that “aims to further foster the digital development of the local economic fabric,” according to a statement. The company said the “technology hub will leverage skill transfer and the pool of engineering excellence available in the country,” according to ITWebAfrica.

Côte d’Ivoire has a cell phone penetration rate of more than 90 percent and information and communication technology accounts for up to 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to New24.

“This new expertise and engineering hub will allow the implementation of an inverted innovation process, repurposing existing solutions to meet the needs and specificities of the local market. It also aims at designing Côte d’Ivoire’s products of tomorrow, in line with its president’s priority to turn it into an emerging country by 2020,” said Eric Claudel, Gemalto president of Africa and Middle East.