Combining business and tourism, work and pleasure: that's the challenge facing Dakar, the vibrant capital of Senegal, Africa's second largest economy after Côte d'Ivoire. Faced with competition from Abidjan, the other grande dame of the French-speaking world, Dakar is determined to rise to the top. one of the world's leading capitals in West Africa.

Recently, Senegal's capital has been rolling out a host of infrastructure projects to tame its dense traffic and neighbourhoods overflowing with informal sector activity. Objective: attract business customers and boost a booming tourism sector.

Business districts integrated into the city

However, taming Dakar is no easy task. The city covers an area of 55O km, but it is located on a peninsula and its development is under constraint. It is estimated that half of the four million inhabitants of the Dakar region still live in makeshift housing in the midst of epic traffic jams.

In other words, like many African cities, Dakar offers the spectacle of a striking contrast. On the one hand, extremely working-class neighbourhoods, sometimes made up of very modest dwellings. On the other, a world of architect-designed houses and lush gardens in the Almadies and Fann districts, home to embassy staff and expatriate executives in Dakar.

The business district is undeniably the Plateau. The city centre, where the first colonial buildings were erected, is now home to the head offices of most of the country's major companies, as well as congested shopping streets plagued by almost constant traffic jams.

Khalifa Sall, Mayor of Dakar and President of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA), has been working hard to relieve congestion in the city. During the 2000s, the city had already seen improvements, including the construction of modern roads on the main arteries, bridges and interchanges, and the creation of new residential districts (Sacré Cœur 3, Liberté 6 Extension, Almadies Zone 7, etc.).

But this development led to undesirable phenomena: property speculation, overcrowding, the social housing crisis and the uncontrolled development of economic activities. Under the leadership of Mayor Khalifa Sall, the aim was to reverse these developments without compromising the city's development. With one key objective: "restore the balance between economic growthrespect for the environment and social equity"promised the mayor.

"Conurbanisation

First priority: roads. The capital's inner city, which was suffocating with only one route to the East, benefited in 2013 from the first section of the the motorway of the future. A 16.5-kilometre extension, including three interchanges and 18 toll lanes, was completed last year.

In total, the Senegalese capital is now linked to the town of Diamniadio, 30 kilometres south of the capital and at the new Blaise-Diagne international airportinaugurated on 7 December and some fifty kilometres away.

For the mayor of Dakar, the time has come to build on these facilities and give priority above all to metropolisation and conurbation - a term referring to a group of several urban nuclei that are destined to join together. This is a question of survival for Dakar, since it would mean extending the capital's area beyond its current Cape Verde peninsula, where it is suffocating.

The Dakar of the future could then go much further, as far as Thiès and Mbour, via the Diamniadio urban development centre. This city, located 15 kilometres from the new airport, is the keystone of Dakar's future, and is in line with the objectives of the European Union. of the Emerging Senegal Plan (PSE).

This PSE brings together a range of actions designed to promote growth and employment, from major infrastructure projects - These include motorways, the Regional Express Train and renovation of the rail network, improving the business climate, social programmes in education and health, and a strategy for self-sufficiency in rice. In 2014, Senegal announced that it had secured international commitments of almost €6 billion to finance the PES.

Bolstered by this international support, the Senegalese government is now seeking to mobilise its own budgetary resources, in a context of strained public finances, and to attract private funds, in particular via public-private partnership (PPP) formulas, in order to bring public debt under control.

It is in this context that the new Diamniadio urban centreThe first rows of buildings have already been erected by Senegalese developers. The first rows of buildings have already been erected by Senegalese developers, quickly joined by players from emerging countries, led by Moroccan groups, but above all Senegindia, a company in partnership with Indian construction groups.

SD City, the development built on the 58 hectares allocated to Senegindia, includes almost 2,500 flats and low-cost houses of medium to high standard in the first phase of construction, as well as health, socio-cultural and sports facilities, a five-star hotel, shopping centres and over 10,000 m² of green spaces. Kilometres of roads and cycle paths will complete the project.

The developers want to avoid the Dakar syndrome - i.e. an over-concentration of government and administrative services in the city centre - by creating 'hubs' scattered across different districts. They are also trying to avoid the dormitory town effect by encouraging a social mix and local services.

Smart city

The Abdou-Diouf International Conference Centre, which hosted the XV^e Francophonie summit in 2014, will soon no longer be alone in Diamniadio. The city in the making will soon be home to a major hotel, a dozen business buildings and a 26-hectare digital park. The construction of Dakar's second university - the Amadou-Mahtar-Mbow University, at an estimated cost of 114 million euros - is also being finalised and the teaching staff is being recruited.

All the conditions have been met to make this new urban centre a smart city model that anticipates its needs in a spirit of sustainable development. The plan is to attract national and international companies and boost research and development. These objectives will be served by the 26-hectare Digital Park, with buildings equipped with cutting-edge infrastructure such as data centres, software development hubs, call platforms, training, research, audiovisual and multimedia production centres and business incubators. Financed by the African Development Bank, the park could generate 35,000 direct jobs by 2025. The stakes are enormous, given that the tertiary sector accounts for more than 62 % of the country's GDP, with telecommunications accounting for the lion's share.

But it is above all in terms of infrastructure that the smart city of Diamniadio is expected to make its mark. The city will be able to control applications such as computerised traffic management and energy optimisation.

At a time when Greater Dakar is still regularly hit by power cuts that exasperate the population, Diamniadio will be supplied with clean energy by a power station with an installed capacity of 15MW. The architectural design of the buildings should enable them to capture more light and improve air circulation. These innovations could provide a development model for the city's energy policy.

The same ambition applies to urban traffic management: Diamniadio is only twenty minutes from the centre of Dakar, thanks to new motorway developments. The logic of rebalancing Dakar's activities towards the new city is matched by the forthcoming opening of the airport, which will serve both the capital and the coastal tourist areas thanks to a fast train. Work on this regional express train is progressing rapidly. The country's first high-speed rail link will open in 2019, running 57 kilometres between Dakar and the new international airport. No fewer than 115,000 passengers a day are expected to use the line.

Challenges

Dakar is therefore well placed to welcome a growing flow of business visitorsAfter a period of weak and irregular economic growth from 2008 to 2013 (2.5% per year on average), the Senegalese economy has recovered since 2014. It recorded growth of 6.5 % in 2015 and 6.6 % in 2016. This upturn, largely due to the initial impact of the implementation of the Emerging Senegal Plan (ESP), is set to continue.

According to experts at the French Embassy in Dakar, the acceleration in growth is based on favourable climatic conditions and an economic environment, but also on on public policy and investment in agricultural production, supporting rice self-sufficiency and exports.

The increase in industrial activity is explained by better access to energy and electricity thanks to the fall in oil prices, and by a sharp rise in energy capacity with the commissioning of thermal and photovoltaic power stations.

But Senegal's capital still has a number of obstacles to overcome. For a start, the business climate is still very average, despite some progress in terms of taxation. Dakar is ranked 147th out of 190 countries in the 2017 Doing Business ranking. The slowness of administrative procedures and the difficulty of accessing business finance are also major obstacles. barriers to growth. Not to mention the political and economic ups and downs of Senegal. Since last March, the very popular and ambitious mayor of the city, accused of embezzlement, has been sleeping in prison... from where he continues to administer the capital while claiming his innocence. A peculiarity that the Dakar business community could have done without.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Identity card

Formalities

Since 1^er On 1 May 2015, the biometric visa requirement was abolished for French nationals entering Senegal. For a stay of less than 90 days, all that is required is a passport valid for up to six months after the date of entry.

If you are staying for more than three months, you must apply for a residence permit from the Aliens Police and Travel Documents Department.

Vaccination

No vaccinations are required to enter Senegal. In practice, the Senegalese health authorities may require passengers from European countries to show their international vaccination certificate at the border.
However, the following vaccinations are recommended before departure:
- yellow fever
- meningitis
- polio

Currency

Senegal's currency is the CFA franc (BCEAO).
1 € = 656 XOF

Time difference

-2 h

How to get there

It takes between 5 and 7 hours to fly from Paris to Dakar. In addition to Air France, Corsair and Air Sénégal, which operate several direct weekly flights from Paris and a number of provincial cities - Marseille and Lyon in particular - several international airlines offer the Paris-Dakar route with a stopover. There are also numerous charter flights. Good to know: Dakar is one of Africa's air crossroads. Air Sénégal operates flights to Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco and Niger.
- Air Algérie: in Dakar 33 823 5548; www.airalgerie.dz
- Air Europa: in Dakar 33 822 0299; www.air-europa.com
- Air France: to Dakar 33 839 7777; www.airfrance.fr
- Brussels Airlines: in Dakar 33 823 0460; www.brusselsairlines.com
- Ethiopian Airlines: in Dakar 33 823 5552; www.flyethiopian.com
- Iberia Airlines: in Dakar 33 889 0050; www.iberia.com
- Royal Air Maroc: in Dakar 33 849 4748; www.royalairmaroc.com
- TAP Air Portugal: in Dakar 33 821 5460; www.tap.pt

Practical services

Co-working spaces :

JOKKOLABS
Opened in 2010, Jokkolabs offers fully-equipped office space for businesses, self-employed workers and employees, as well as a virtual community (Jokkolabs) based on sharing and exchanging professional practices. More than 140 coworkers and around a hundred companies.
Internet: www.jokkolabs.net

Regus Dakar
Regus offers two spaces in Dakar: tailor-made solutions for start-ups, independent entrepreneurs, SMEs and large groups in the process of setting up operations. Ready-to-use equipped offices (furniture, air conditioning, WIFI connection, etc.) can be rented for an hour, a few days or several months.
Azur 15 building, 12, Bd Djily Mbaye, le Plateau. And 1^er étage SIA Building, Les Almadies - Tel.: +221 33 829 64 64 - Internet: www.regus.sn

Dakar Business Center
Equipped offices, domiciliation and help with setting up in the heart of the Almadies district, opposite the Dakar Regional Council.
Almadies, opposite the DAKAR Regional Council. lot 9 Zone 8 Ngor, DAKAR - Internet: www.dakarbusinesscenter.com

Business information

French Embassy
1 rue El Hadji Amadou Assane Ndoye (access via rue Parchappe)
BP 4035 - Dakar - Tel : (221) 338 395 10 - Fax : (221) 338 395 181

Business France
Contact: Julien GIRAUD
Business France Development Officer in Senegal
French Embassy in Senegal
Mail: julien.giraud@businessfrance.fr

The Council of European Investors in Senegal (CIES)
This association brings together around one hundred French and European companies.
2, Place de l'Indépendance, Dakar, Senegal - +221 33 823 62 72 - www.cies.sn

Dakar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIA-DAKAR)
1, Place de l'Indépendance, Dakar
BP: 118 DAKAR - Tel: +221 33 889 76 80/77 80 - www.cciad.sn