But Malik Gaye- Abdourahmane Sarr appealed to employers. “Take more risks in order to take full advantage of the potential of key sectors of our economy. This appeal is also valid for our bilateral and multilateral financial partners. I say this to all foreign partners who visit me. The State’s balance sheet cannot support the volume of profitable investments necessary for the emergence of Senegal,” he said, while ensuring that “the State is ready to “derisk” projects to facilitate their financing.”
Senegal has made local content a key issue to stimulate its economic growth, strengthen its sovereignty and improve the living conditions of its populations. The President of the Republic has translated this into his Project for a sovereign, fair and prosperous Senegal. With this ambition, the Project must rely on “the involvement of the national private sector, which must play a leading role in the modernization of production processes, the opening of new markets and the promotion of local products,” according to Abdourahmane Sarr. The Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation represented Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko at the opening ceremony of the Assises de l’entreprise, whose theme this year is: “Public-private partnership and local content.” According to Mr. Sarr, actions have been taken in the past to improve the business environment and promote the attractiveness of our country in terms of investment, but they “have been very insufficient in view of the issues and challenges we face and the results obtained.” Thus, to rectify the situation, “the Senegal Systemic Transformation Project has defined major orientations by developing a National Strategy for the Development of a Strong Private Sector integrating the territorial dimension,” informed the Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation. Who specified that this involves “supporting the strengthening of the productive capacities of the private sector” by developing human resources and facilitating access to financing. “Particular emphasis must be placed on increasing the presence of national companies in territorial hubs and in strategic sectors such as agriculture, energy, industries and technology (digital). This will reduce dependence on the outside and create quality jobs for Senegalese people, especially young people,” said Sarr, while recalling that Senegal must also take advantage of its comparative advantages to develop high value-added products and services and integrate global value chains. The Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation also urged the national private sector to advocate collaboration between the different actors to meet the challenges related to the production of goods and services, marketing and promotion of Made in Senegal. However, Abdourahmane Sarr believes that the promotion of local content will require new measures such as “the adoption of a legislative and regulatory framework more favorable to the requirements of local content beyond the hydrocarbons and mining sector, in particular through the ongoing revision of the Investment Code to integrate this concern, the strengthening of the support system for national companies, in particular through their financing, the establishment of investment incentive mechanisms and the development of infrastructure necessary for the production and marketing of local products.”
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