According to Abdoulaye Bale, Managing Director of the ‘Agence pour la Promotion de l’Investissement et des Grands Travaux’ (Investment and Major Projects Agency, Apix-SA), these economically and financially viable projects require two trillion CFA francs to implement.
From July 6 to 8, 2023, Diamniadio, a town some 30 kilometers from Dakar, will host the “Invest in Senegal” Forum. In the run-up to this major event, Abdoulaye Balde, Managing Director of Apix-SA, spoke to the press on Monday evening to provide an update on preparations for the event.
He announced that “fifty-one mature projects costing a total of two trillion CFA francs have been selected for presentation to the investors who will be visiting Dakar.” “These projects are spread throughout the country, and are supported by both the public and private sectors,” he continued.
Abdoulaye Balde also announced that some 1,700 of the more than 2,000 people expected to attend have already confirmed their participation in the forum.
By decision of President Macky Sall, Cote d’Ivoire, the leading economic power in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), has been chosen as guest of honor. It will be represented by President Alassane Ouattara, who will be accompanied by a large delegation of investors, according to the Apix CEO.
This global event is designed to insert Dakar and its new city Diamniadio into the international calendar of events dedicated to private investment in Africa, and to help operationalize the goal of making Senegal the leading service hub in Africa.
It will be a key event for promoting the considerable investment opportunities available to economic operators, financial and technical partners, multilateral institutions, decision-makers and asset owners from Africa and the rest of the world.
The “Invest in Senegal” Forum is intended to be a landmark event on the international and continental agenda. It will be devoted to the development of local and regional markets, with a view to integrating and promoting investment and trade opportunities for the private sector, so as to better seize the advantages of the continental market (AfCFTA).
The meeting will be a biennial event from 2023, to ensure the professionalism and sustainability of the event in terms of quality of participation and innovation of themes. It will be organized in partnership with Global View, a pan-African events company specializing in international forum promotion.
The event has a number of objectives, including attracting the maximum amount of capital and talent in order to strengthen Senegal’s current growth momentum and regional economic integration. Industrialization will be at the forefront, as well as increased exports of value-added services.
ARD/ac/fss/abj/APA