Promising sectors — where to invest, numbers in hand

Feeding a market of 18 million

Agro-industry remains the biggest playing field: local rice covers about 70% of needs (1.5 million tonnes in 2023) yet the country still imports ~1.3 million tonnes a year — food import-substitution is national policy, with a self-sufficiency target of 2030. Export horticulture (mango first, 150,000-200,000 tonnes a year) is looking for processors. Fisheries weigh 3.2% of GDP, over 50,000 direct jobs and about 10% of exports — with a glaring deficit in value-added processing.

Energy and digital

Renewables account for about 30% of the electricity mix, with an official 40% target for 2030 carried by a National Energy Compact (March 2025) counting on some USD 2.3 billion of private investment. Digital now has its framework: the 2020 Startup Act became operational in late 2025 (label, benefits, dedicated platform), and the "New Deal Technologique" lists 12 priority projects — a state ambition, to be taken as such, but with an announced portfolio of around 1,100 billion FCFA over ten years.

Tourism, mining, construction

Tourism has bounced back — about 2.2 million visitors in 2024 according to the ministry, growing in 2025, against a stated 3-million target; hotel and tourism capacity is structurally short outside Dakar and the Petite Côte. Mining (Kédougou gold, phosphates, zircon) remains governed by its own codes, outside the Investment Code. Construction, driven by Diamniadio, the 2026 Youth Olympic infrastructure and a chronic housing deficit, feeds a whole sub-contracting chain — materials, finishing trades, services.

One cross-cutting golden rule: every figure above carries a date. In a fast-changing country, an undated figure is a rumour.