Unlocking economic opportunities: reforms could also generate 1.1 trillion FCFA in growth and 280,000 new jobs
December 5, 2025, Dakar: Senegal could connect 2.6 million more people, expand access to essential digital services and unlock new opportunities in education, health, finance and agriculture by 2030, according to a new GSMA report launched today at the Senegal Digital Africa Summit.
The study – Driving the digital transformation of the economy in Senegal – concludes that targeted reforms to improve affordability, digital skills and modernize regulation would significantly reduce the country's 54% usage gap, allowing millions more citizens to fully participate in the digital economy.
While these reforms are expected to generate 1.1 trillion FCFA in economic value and create 280,000 new jobs, the report highlights that the most significant impact will be to improve people's lives and support Senegal's ambitions under the New Deal Technologique 2034.
Angela Wamola, Africa Director at GSMAsaying: “Senegal has all the ingredients to become one of Africa's most dynamic digital economies, from strong national strategies to a young, ambitious population ready to participate. But millions of people are still constrained by the cost of devices, skills gaps and access barriers. By focusing on affordability, digital skills and an enabling policy environment, Senegal can unlock opportunities for all communities, from farmers and traders to students, entrepreneurs and users of public services. These reforms can transform digital access in a real and meaningful impact for people, while strengthening Senegal's long-term economic resilience.”
Strengthening Senegal's digital future
Senegal has made significant progress in expanding digital access, supported by national strategies such as Digital Senegal 2025, the Senegal Digital Economy Acceleration Project (PAENS) and the New Deal Technologique 2034. These programs reflect the country's commitment to making digital technology an engine of inclusion, opportunity and national development.
Mobile connectivity is at the center of this transition: supporting everyday communications, enabling mobile money, expanding access to education and health services, and opening new avenues for economic activity in agriculture, manufacturing, services and government.
GSMA analysis shows that Senegal now has 97% 4G population coverage and 39% 5G population coverage, with 8.16 million unique mobile internet users, equivalent to 43% of the population. Despite this strong infrastructure footprint, 54% of the population lives within coverage but does not use mobile internet, highlighting a significant usage gap driven by affordability challenges, limited digital skills and the high cost of smartphones.
The report underlines that achieving Senegal's digital ambitions will require people-centred reforms focused on reducing barriers to access, promoting sustainable investment and modernizing the political and regulatory environment to ensure that digital services are accessible, affordable and reliable.
Five reforms to advance digital inclusion
The GSMA outlines five priority areas where policy reforms could make the biggest difference to people's digital access:
- Improve affordability for citizens
Eliminating taxes on basic smartphones, reducing data-related taxes and expanding national digital skills programs would significantly reduce the barriers that keep millions of people offline. - Strengthen infrastructure to reach underserved communities.
A more predictable investment environment – including simplified right-of-way processes, clearer and lower spectrum pricing and longer license durations (minimum 20 years) in line with international best practices – would enable more reliable coverage and better quality of service across the country. - Expand access through greater alignment between energy and telecommunications
Improving power supply to digital infrastructure, especially in rural areas, would improve grid reliability and help ensure communities can rely on essential digital services. - Modernize regulation to support innovation and the provision of public services.
Updates to licensing frameworks, ensuring regulatory parity between service providers, supporting emerging technologies and clearer governance structures can create the conditions for faster and more inclusive digital adoption. - Expand digital public services to deepen participation
Accelerating e-government, digital payments, and digital health systems would significantly strengthen their adoption by making digital tools relevant to everyday life.
What these reforms could mean for people in 2030
If implemented, the reforms would help millions more Senegalese participate in the digital economy, particularly in regions and communities that remain underserved today. By 2030, Senegal could
- Connect 2.6 million new usersraising mobile Internet adoption to 61% of the population, with the greatest advances among women, young people and rural communities where usage gaps are greatest.
- Overcome regional divisionsallowing citizens of Casamance, Kaffrine, Kédougou, Louga and other underserved areas to access the same digital opportunities currently concentrated in Dakar and Thiès.
- Improve affordability for low-income householdsreducing the cost of a basic smartphone, currently 19% of monthly GDP per capita, and reducing barriers for the poorest 40% of the population.
- Support farmers, traders and SMEs to access digital markets, mobile payments and climate-smart agricultural tools, strengthening key sectors that drive livelihoods across Senegal.
- Expand access to digital health, education and government services.advancing priorities within the framework of PAENS, the Digital Senegal 2025 program and the New Deal Technologique 2034.
- Create 280,000 new jobsparticularly for Senegal's young and growing population, in the services sectors, manufacturing, industries adjacent to telecommunications and the emerging digital economy.
- Increase national income by 417 billion FCFAthrough greater digital participation and more efficient, technology-based tax systems, supporting fiscal space for public investment.
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About the GSMA
The GSMA is a global organization that unifies the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver critical innovation for positive business environments and social change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organizations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA offers its members three broad pillars: connectivity for good, industry services and solutions, and outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, addressing today's biggest societal challenges, supporting the technology and interoperability that make mobile devices work, and providing the world's largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.
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