Over the past five years, Senegal's startup industry has gained the attention of many investment and venture capital funds. Thus, the moment seems to be ripe for boosting the local tech ecosystem, to hatch even more golden nuggets.

The French Embassy in Senegal and the General Delegation for Rapid Entrepreneurship of Women and Youth (DER/FJ) officially launched this Monday the "Support for the acceleration of Senegalese Tech companies" program.

A partnership agreement was signed to this effect by Mame Aby Seye, the General Delegate to the DER/FJ, and the French Ambassador, Philippe Lalliot. With the expertise of the Public Investment Bank of France (Bpifrance) and the French Development Agency (AFD), the two partners have each mobilized €2  million to support the development of Senegal’s entrepreneurial tech ecosystem.

According to Mame Aby Seye, besides financing companies, the project “aims to support networks of Senegalese investors but also make Senegalese startups more visible to investors from the African and European continents.”

BPIfrance and AFD's support is the fruit of strategic steps taken to benefit innovators, notably on the regulatory and financial fronts. These efforts stimulated the growth of the startup industry and contributed to the emergence of Senegal’s first unicorn, Wave, in September 2021. Now, the ecosystem needs to be better structured to spur its maturity and birth new super startups.

Isabelle Bebear, BPIfrance's Director of International & European Affairs, said that "the digital community hosted on Bpifrance EuroQuity, led by the DER and animated with the actors of the Senegalese Tech ecosystem, will allow startups to connect to international investors and other ecosystems in Africa and Europe."

Muriel Edjo