NABC and Senegal
In October 2023, the NABC facilitated a regional trade mission for poultry and horticulture entrepreneurs from Senegal to the Salon International de l’Agriculture et des Ressources Animales (SARA) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire in cooperation with RVO.
NABC organised a webinar about doing business in Senegal on June 25th, 2020. The recording is available via our YouTube channel.
In April 2019, NABC accompanied 4 Dutch companies in the Oil and Gas Sector (Heerema, Boskalis, Fugro and WTS Energy) for an Energy Masterclass in Dakar, Senegal.
In January 2017 NABC organised in collaboration with the Embassy of Netherlands in Dakar and RVO a business seminar to present business opportunities in Senegal, Cabo Verde and Guinea Conakry.
In 2017, NABC organised a multisector trade mission to Senegal (Dakar) focused on Maritime, Energy, Agribusiness and Tourism. The mission program included matchmaking B2B, G2B and company visits per sector.
In September 2013 the first ever multi-sectoral trade mission was realised in cooperation with the Dutch embassy in Dakar, Senegal and the Royal Netherlands Navy. 25 companies from a variety of sectors participated in this mission.
Investment climate
Senegal offers a stable political environment, relatively good infrastructure and strong institutions. This creates an attractive set of opportunities for Dutch business investments and trade. Senegal has maintained close foreign relations with the Western world. Having a strategic geographical position, it is located on the most western part of the African continent and is bordered by Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Mauritania by land, and Cape Verde by sea. Being a member of UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union) and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West Africa), Senegal is a heavyweight in the regional economy. Moreover, it is the fourth largest economy in the region after Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. In addition to that, it also belongs to the OHADA (Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa). All those are major assets for the establishment of well-developed regional and global economic cooperation.
The Government of Senegal welcomes foreign investment and has prioritised efforts to improve the business climate. The country has the goal of becoming the regional hub for services, industry and logistics.
Investment opportunities lie mainly in the maritime, agriculture, (renewable) energy and cooling technologies sectors. Regarding agriculture, costs are constantly high for imported food products in Senegal, so the government is trying to reduce this dependence by attracting the private sector investment with many opportunities (e.g. onions, potatoes, fruits and vegetables). As for energy, the country plans to promote the integration of alternative energy sources, especially from solar energy. On the other hand, hydropower plants and water treatment plants also need to be built to meet the needs of the entire population. Further, there are more than 600,000 people who live from fishing, and this sector records more than 455,000 tonnes of catch per year, of which about 85,000 tonnes are exported and account for one third of the volume of exports. Fishing is the main source of foreign currency for Senegal. For this reason, cooling and packaging machines have good prospects for foreign manufacturers. Markets that are on the rise are the internet and telecommunication sector.
New gas fields are still being found in Senegal. The expected supply is from 2022 onwards, after which the economic growth will increase and energy is expected to become cheaper faster in Senegal.
Diplomatic relations
Netherlands
Embassy
The Netherlands is represented in Senegal via its Embassy in Dakar led by Ambassador Ms. Carmen Hagenaars.
More information: https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/your-country-and-the-netherlands/senegal
Senegal
Embassy
Senegal is represented in the Netherlands via its embassy in The Hague, led by Ambassador Mr. Momar Gueye.
Presence of Dutch companies
There are currently around 20 Dutch companies active in Senegal.
Webinars
25thJune, 2020. Doing Business in Senegal. The recording is available via our YouTube channel.
Núria Vlonk-Cunha Soares
- Angola, Mozambique, Senegal
- nuria.vlonk@nabc.nl