54 AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Agri-business Sector :

Senegal is largely an agriculture based economy with the sector contributing to around 12.5% of the GDP. The region has 240,000 hectares of irrigable land and a climate which is favorable for an off seasons produce. Over the past years several successful initiatives in order to diversify the products have occurred. This in-turn has reduced Senegal’s dependence on the few items of export like groundnut. Cherry, tomatoes, green beans, mangoes and melons are some of the produce that have done exceptionally well. The country’s proximity to the European and the American countries provide a vast market for the produce.

Senegal still though spends a lot on food imports and thus the government is trying to reduce this dependency by attracting the private sector investments by giving incentives. The investment opportunities for the private sector are in the following areas:

     o Processing, packaging and marketing of agriculture produce especially of fruits and vegetables.

     o Manufacturing of agricultural equipment.

     o Research and development in this field.

Telecom :

After the liberalization of the communication sector in 1999, the sector has developed extensively. The mobile users have risen dramatically and now represent 95% of the telephone lines. The sales generated by this sector accounted for around 7% of the GDP in 2007. The internet – broadband is also expected to see a boost with the fiber optics submarine cables coming in, this will drastically reduce the cost.

Senegal has an advantageous geographical position, relatively good telecommunication infrastructure and affordable workforce in terms of wages. The government plans to make Senegal a big market for teleprocessing services. Senegal currently serves the telemarketing businesses in the French market.

Mining :

The new mining code in Senegal brings about a modern legislation. The code aims at redeveloping the mining sector as it includes major innovations that are supposed to attract investment flow and would promote the development of the exploration and exploitation of several mining resources significantly.

Tourism :

The tourism sector is one of Senegal’s most dynamic sectors. The region has 700 km of fine sand, mild and pleasant climate and close to the developed countries. Around 700,000 tourists visit Senegal yearly; the country offers various activities for tourists and has a culture which is still vivid and appreciable by the tourists.

The government sees tourism as one of the important sectors of the economy in terms of creation of jobs, regional development and better land management. The government is aiming to make Senegal an internationally renowned tourist destination and a cultural and leisure center which would accommodate around 1.5 million tourists by 2010.The tourism sector is one of the driving forces of development in Senegal, which necessitates public and private, national and international investments.

For Further Reference

 National Customs

 National Agency Charged of the Promotion of Investment
    (Agence National Chargee de la Promotion de l’Investissement et des Grand Travaux)

 Doing Business With Senegal (Source: The World Bank Group)