Cayor positions itself as an engine of growth in the Senegal 2050 agenda October 18, 2026

The commune of Merina Dakhar hosted the first edition of the Cayor International Economic Forum (FESICA 2026) on Saturday October 17, 2026, under the central theme: “Cayor, reveal its potential, connect Senegal to the rest of the world. An initiative led by Ousseynou Fall, civil administrator, financial controller at the Presidency of the Republic and initiator of the forum. The objective of this first edition is to make this one of the drivers of the Senegal 2050 agenda.

Sponsored by the Minister of the Budget, Bassirou Sarr, and the Director General of FONSIS, Babacar Gning, represented by Adramé Ndione, this meeting aims to make Cayor a national economic hub. In his speech, Adramé Ndione transmitted the message of the sponsoring minister: “The minister’s wish is that this meeting goes beyond the framework of exchanges and intentions to contribute to the emergence of concrete projects, solid partnerships and job-creating investments.”

According to him, FONSIS, as the financial arm of the State, is ready to support the region’s SMEs. “We don’t do debt. We take stakes in companies. We become partners and we support them in their development,” he said, inviting project leaders to present bankable applications.

The Cayor is not a spectator, it is an engine. For the initiator of FECICA, Ousseynou Fall, the choice of Cayor is not fortuitous. Of the twelve promising sectors in Senegal, eight come from Cayor. Phosphate, Niayes agriculture, crafts, culture, logistics: Cayor is not on the outskirts, it is an engine of growth, he maintained.

However, he pointed out the paradox of a rich but vulnerable terroir, with agricultural activity limited to 3 or 4 months of wintering and the recurring drama of poor sales, as illustrated by the market garden products which rotted in the fields last year in Notto. To prevent FECICA from remaining a forum for discourse, the organizer announced the creation of a permanent FESICA Monitoring Committee.

He will be responsible for ensuring the implementation of commitments, mobilizing funding and transforming intentions into tangible projects. Present at this first edition were ANIDA for agriculture, APROSI for industrial platforms, FONSIS for financing, as well as numerous investors and members of the Cayor diaspora.

Leader of the “Dieumel Yaakar” movement, Mr. Fall is presented by his supporters as the one who enabled 165 graduates to find employment in the Civil Service. For them, FECICA is an opportunity for everyone.

Coming to chair the meeting on behalf of the Head of State, Me Abdoulaye Tine, coordinator of Kiiraye party executives, also Minister, spokesperson for the President of the Republic, welcomed an initiative which is in line with the President’s vision. “I want to talk to you as a builder,” he said. Me Tine recalled the potential of Cayor.

“Whether in terms of mines, phosphate, but also in terms of agriculture, we have the Niayes in this area. All the vegetables that are marketed in Dakar or Thiaroye have been grown here. You are a real market gardening breeding ground of Senegal,” he declared. Cayor is not on the outskirts of Senegal.

Cayor is not a spectator, Cayor is not a simple file in the Economic Transformation Agenda. Cayor is an engine, a real engine that can boost the economic growth of Senegal,” he concluded.