Senegal Unveils PPP Models to Expand Connectivity to 436,000 People

On September 10, 2025, the Project for the Acceleration of the Digital Economy in Senegal (PAENS), organized a workshop to present the study on the “Survey of white areas identified in the framework of the Universal Access Program (PAU); on the analysis of PPP financing models and the preparation of the Tender Documents relating to construction works”. This meeting brought together all the institutions involved in the public policy of the State of Senegal in terms of universal service/access, as well as all infrastructure operators, in order to share the results of the study and define the next steps towards better inclusion.

Worrying findings on the state of the roof

The study, which covered a sample of 250 localities spread throughout the country, highlighted a persistent digital divide:

• 24% of the localities have no network at all, representing nearly 18,858 inhabitants.
• 37% experience frequent signal drops.
• Only 52% have 4G coverage, while some areas remain limited to 2G.

These deficiencies also affect social infrastructure, schools and health centres that are located in remote areas of the country, thus hindering access to essential services.

Solutions to bridge the digital divide

Three options were proposed:

• Install new sites in priority white areas.
• Optimize existing sites to improve coverage.
• Adopt a hybrid approach combining new infrastructure and reinforcement of existing ones.

A project structured in lots to promote competition

The project will be organized into four geographical lots (groundnut basin, Casamance, southeast and northwest) for a total of 774 sites to impact about 436,000 inhabitants.

This workshop marks a decisive step for the FDSUT in its mission to reduce the digital divide and guarantee universal access to telecommunication services, in line with the ambitions of the New Technological Deal and the vision of Digital Senegal 2050.