UCAD students take advantage of the YOG showcase to exhibit their innovations (1/2) November 3, 2026

On the sidelines of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the Dakar Night Market was set up at the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD), from October 31, 2026 to November 13, 2026. Beyond commercial and cultural entertainment, this night market offers a showcase for local entrepreneurs and particularly students who take advantage of the influx linked to the Games to showcase their creations, test their products and go to meet potential customers.

At night, when the streets of the capital move away from their usual hustle and bustle, another activity comes to life in the heart of Dakar. It is 8 p.m. this Sunday, November 1, 2026. At the entrance to the site, a fast bus in blue and yellow already sets the tone. In this familiar setting, more than a hundred stands come alive to the rhythm of exhibitors who have come to present their know-how in the fields of fashion, gastronomy and cosmetics. It is at the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD), a temple of knowledge, that the seventh edition of the Dakar Night Market took place. Organized from October 31 to November 13, this event takes advantage of the YOG to welcome more exhibitors and reach a wider audience, particularly visitors from abroad.

For the organizers, the challenge is to make this period an opportunity to promote Senegalese know-how. At the initiative of the market, chef Aziz, founder of Cowaf (Cooking with Aziz & Friends), explains that this edition has been exceptionally extended to fourteen nights, while the meeting is usually held on Fridays and Saturdays. The number of exhibitors has also increased from around sixty on average to around one hundred. “We hope to have reached this target who came from elsewhere, so that they can leave in their suitcases with memories of the Dakar Night Market,” he explains.

But beyond promoting local products to YOG visitors, the night market also aims to give visibility to entrepreneurial youth. Around ten stands are reserved for students, faculty initiatives and UCAD incubators. An opportunity for these young people to go beyond the university framework, to present their ideas and submit them for public appreciation.

Students who exhibit their know-how

In these hundred stands, student initiatives attract attention. Through their projects, these young people attempt to transform their knowledge and creativity into concrete solutions. This is the case of Tidiane Sow, Ibrahima Fall, Ahmed Sall and Ahmadou Sarré, students in the computer engineering department of the École supérieure polytechnique. They came to present Saytu Mbay, a solution intended to support farmers in monitoring their farms. The device collects data on fields to facilitate crop monitoring and help producers make certain decisions.

The group is also working on a second solution dedicated to the preservation of onions. Based on the observation of the losses recorded after the harvests, the students imagined a system of sensors making it possible to monitor storage conditions and better determine the moments when intervention is necessary. For Ibrahima Fall, this exhibition represents an opportunity to gain visibility, but also to collect observations and advice from visitors likely to contribute to the improvement of their project.

A few stands away, innovation takes another form. Ikraamat Saïd Mouhamed and Meta Boly Camara, Seed Science and Technology undergraduate students in the plant biology department and members of the UCAD Agropole program, exhibit products from the university’s field school. Peppers, chili peppers and moringa leaves sit alongside processed products, including chili sauce.

For these students, participating in the Dakar Night Market is an unusual experience. Accustomed to the university setting, they discovered the requirements of an exhibition open to the general public. “As a student, you don’t often get the opportunity to see things like this, but I think in the end I’ll have a lot of experience to gain from it all,” said one.

Student entrepreneurship is also entering the world of cosmetics. Student at FASEG, Jamilatou Diallo presents, with five other classmates, a hair range made from sorghum. A raw material generally associated with food, but whose properties have sparked their interest for cosmetic application. Their range includes a shampoo, an oil and an ointment.

At the origin of this initiative, an idea born from curiosity and the desire to explore new possibilities. Without specific training in biology, these students chose to focus on the potential of sorghum in the field of hair care. Their project, accepted by the incubator, now allows them to take a new step. By exhibiting their products, they mainly seek to gather consumer reactions, particularly on price, presentation and design, before actually launching into the market.

University as a gateway to the economic world

The choice of UCAD as the setting for this event gives an additional dimension to the initiative. For the institution, the Dakar Night Market represents an opportunity to promote the skills of its students, but also the scientific achievements and the solutions developed in its laboratories.

Representing the rector, vice-rector Fatou Diop Sall invited exhibitors to seize this opportunity to present their products, exhibit their prototypes and collect opinions from the public. She believes that these exchanges can allow them to test market interest, develop their network and, possibly, establish relationships with investors.

“It is by creating these spaces for meeting university skills and the needs of the socio-economic world that we will be able to increase the opportunities offered to our youth,” she stressed.

In the excitement of the YOG, the Dakar Night Market intends to do more than extend the activities surrounding the competition. For young exhibitors, the fourteen nights provide opportunities to make themselves known, to confront their ideas with the market and to give visibility to their entrepreneurial ambitions.

Read also: Entrepreneurs invest at night to conquer new markets (2/2)

Arame NDIAYE