Region
Senegal

Sector
Call Centres & Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
ICT - Information & Communication Technology

Summary:

Though Senegal has developed an extensive and modern telecommunications infrastructure, overall penetration is still low, presenting opportunities for new entrants to establish call centres, computer factories and to develop software.

Contact
Augustin Diof

Email
adiouf@apix.sn, contact@apix.sn

Tel
Tel: +221 33 849 05 55
Fax
+221 33 823 94 89

Investment opportunities

Overall penetration in all sectors of Senegal's telecommunications market is low, presenting investment opportunities such as;

•  Cybervillages
•  Call Centers
•  Business Process Outsourcing
•  Computer factory
•  Software development
•  Computer engineering
•  Data management and processing
•  Telecom integrators

Sector: Senegal has developed an extensive and modern telecommunications infrastructure. Since the liberalisation of the communications sector in 1999, the number of mobile subscribers has risen dramatically to represent now around 95% of all telephone lines. Sales generated by the sector accounted for more than 7% of the GDP in 2007.

The West African country introduced ADSL broadband service (2.3 gigabytes bandwith) in 2003, which has almost completely replaced dial-up as the internet access method of choice. The Internet and broadband market is expected to receive a boost from planned fibre optic submarine cables that will dramatically reduce the cost of international bandwidth.

The government plans to make Senegal a haven for tele-processing services, supported by its advantageous geographic position, relatively good telecommunications infrastructure and affordable wages. Currently, tele-marketing businesses are mostly serving the French market.

Reasons to invest in the ICT sector

• Modern and reliable telecommunication network (2200km of optic fibre, 100% digital and internet bandwith 2.3 gigabytes ADSL)
• Quality and competitive labour (English/French/Arabic spoken)
• Existence of pioneer ICT Companies
• High growth in outsourcing
• Closeness to markets – GMT Time Zone

Incentives

The government offers special incentives for major projects which are negotiated with the relevant state department.

The revised incentive scheme also offers the following:

• Increased investment protection
• Improved investment incentives
• Consideration of priority sectors
• The issuance of documents for approval in 10 days
• Compliance with the Code of the Environment

For more information on investing in Senegal's ICT and BPO sectors contact Senegal's National Agency for Investment Promotion, APIX.

Key contact: Augustin Diouf
adiouf@apix.sn, contact@apix.sn

Tel: +221 849 05 55  

www.investinsenegal.com