Economic sovereignty: Senegal to allocate 35% of GDP to local processing

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Lagos, Nigeria – Senegal has unveiled an ambitious plan to allocate 35% of its GDP to local resource processing initiatives by 2026. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye highlighted that the country currently spends approximately $4 billion annually exporting raw materials, retaining only 10% of the added value within its economy. The new strategy aims to triple local processing, particularly in the mining and fishing sectors, by 2030.

Compared to neighbouring nations like Côte d’Ivoire, which processes 50% of its cocoa locally, Senegal seeks to achieve similar industrialisation levels.

In 2024, only 20% of the country’s mineral resources were processed domestically, but the government aims to increase this figure to 45% within five years, potentially creating 500,000 new jobs in the industrial sector.

Agriculture will also benefit significantly, with $1.2 billion earmarked to modernise the agricultural value chain. This amount is nearly double what was invested over the past decade, underscoring the government’s priority of achieving self-sufficiency and reducing reliance on imports.