Guest on the program "Seneweb Eco" on Sunday, August 31, 2025, on Seneweb TV, the president of the National Council of Enterprises of Senegal (CNES), Babacar Diagne, took stock of the difficulties facing the national private sector.

He first emphasized the cost of credit, which he considers unsustainable for Senegalese companies. Financing rates are around 12 to 13 percent, which, according to him, "automatically undermines the internal profitability of companies."

Adding to this constraint is the lengthy payment deadlines from the State: "You are sometimes paid after six months, or even a year. This is suffocating the cash flow of companies," he laments.

While the government has certainly set up several support structures—such as the BNDE, FONGIP, FONSIS, and DER—their resources remain too limited to truly transform the situation. "These funds exist, but they cannot take many risks. Of the 500 billion euros in the 2023 recovery fund, only 35% of businesses have benefited," explains Babacar Diagne, pointing out that nearly half of Senegal's economic fabric is still informal and struggles to access financing.

Mr. Diagne therefore proposes to rationalize and merge these structures in order to create a true development bank capable of mobilizing resources on a large scale, both on the domestic market and internationally.

This idea, he emphasizes, is also in line with that expressed by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko during the launch of the Economic and Social Recovery Plan.

Beyond financial issues, Babacar Diagne also advocates for "positive discrimination" in favor of Senegalese-owned companies. For him, the state must ensure that the majority of public procurement remains within the country. "Whatever is good for business is good for the state," he insists, calling for a proactive policy of creating national champions through financial, technical, and administrative support.

This ambition does not preclude international expansion. CNES recently signed a partnership agreement with Turkey to develop industrial incubators and foster partnerships between Turkish and Senegalese companies.