• Senegal plans institutional reforms to better coordinate support for SMEs.

• A national SME council and a dedicated promotion fund are among the planned measures.

• SMEs make up about 95% of Senegal’s economic fabric but face major financing gaps.

Senegal’s government plans to introduce institutional reforms aimed at improving the coherence and coordination of its policies supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The announcement was reported March 10 by the Senegalese Press Agency (APS), citing the Secretary of State for SME/SMI Development, Ibrahima Thiam.

One of the key measures is the creation of a national SME council bringing together the main actors of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The body will be responsible for monitoring and guiding policies designed to support businesses.

The council will also officially recognize SMEs that comply with legal requirements, enabling them to more easily access government support mechanisms and available opportunities, Thiam said.

The government also plans to establish a national SME promotion fund intended to strengthen financing and support mechanisms for the sector. These initiatives are expected to improve the consistency and coordination of public interventions aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.

At the same time, the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Livestock, Mabouba Diagne, announced that the budget of the Agency for the Development and Support of SMEs (ADEPME) will increase by more than CFA2 billion (about $3.4 million). In addition, 30 incubators will be set up across the country’s eight territorial development hubs. The goal is to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem and make SMEs “a real engine of growth and job creation.”

The announcement came during the launch of ADEPME’s transformation plan, which aims to strengthen the agency’s role in supporting SMEs and developing competitive growth clusters.

In Senegal, SMEs play a central role in the national economy, representing nearly 95% of the country’s economic fabric, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. However, a large share operates in the informal sector and faces limited access to financing due to banks’ reluctance to lend to them.

Alongside these reforms, the Senegalese government has launched a large-scale financing program designed to mobilize CFA3,000 billion by 2028 to support SMEs and SMIs.

Lydie Mobio