• Signed MoU with Guinea, held talks with Côte d’Ivoire and Germany

• $1.8B digital strategy targets 500 startups, 150,000 jobs by 2034

Senegal has intensified its search for new digital partnerships, as Minister of Communication and Digital Economy Alioune Sall (photo, left) met with regional and international stakeholders during the 7th Transform Africa Summit in Conakry.

Held from Wednesday, November 12, to Friday, November 14, the summit provided an opportunity to advance the New Technological Deal, Senegal’s national digital transformation strategy that runs until 2034.

According to a ministry statement released on November 15, Sall held several bilateral meetings, including talks with Côte d’Ivoire to strengthen cooperation and enhance the regional impact of digital investment. Senegal and Guinea also signed a memorandum of understanding covering telecom infrastructure interconnection, joint development of digital platforms, collaboration on cybersecurity, data centers, and artificial intelligence, and support for startups and digital entrepreneurship.

Sall likewise met with investors and industry players expressing interest in supporting the New Technological Deal. He also held discussions with Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on ongoing projects such as PRODAP (Promotion of Public Service Digitization) and on plans for PRODAP 2, which will include deploying new digital services, assisting with change management, building digital skills and supplying computer equipment.

Digital Strategy Goals

Launched in February 2025, the New Technological Deal aims to make the digital sector a central pillar of socio-economic development and position Senegal as a regional and international digital hub by 2034. The strategy allocates 1,105 billion CFA francs (around $1.8 billion) and includes targets such as universal Internet access, the creation of 500 certified startups, training 100,000 university graduates in digital fields, generating 150,000 direct jobs, accelerating digital innovation and hosting all sensitive data locally.

Senegal ranked 135th out of 193 countries in the 2024 United Nations E-Government Development Index (EGDI), with a score of 0.5162 out of 1. The result is above the African average but remains below the global average. Senegal performed well in telecom infrastructure, scoring 0.7329, above the world average, but posted lower results in online services (0.4779) and human capital (0.3380).

Isaac K. Kassouwi