In the run-up to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the Dakar Dem Dikk (DDD) General Management and the Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee (YOGOC) have signed a partnership agreement to provide support in the field of urban transport. The official signing ceremony for this historic agreement took place this Monday, October 6, 2025, at the DDD headquarters in Dakar. This partnership follows an initial framework agreement signed by the Ministry of Land and Air Transport and the YOGOC to ensure the success of this sporting event.

DDD, a key player in transport in Senegal

The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the first Olympic sporting event to be held on African soil, will be held from October 31 to November 13, 2026, in Dakar, Senegal. The competitions are scheduled for three venues: Dakar, Diamniadio, and Saly (Mbour). This requires adequate support to provide better mobility for the thousands of participants who will come from all over the world. Hence the choice made by the national transport company Dakar Dem Dikk (DDD).

Ensure “guaranteed mobility” for all participants

On the occasion, the Director General of Dakar Dem Dikk (DDD) reassured that the company, as usual, will play its part in ensuring the total success of this global sporting event. "Dakar Dem Dikk is a historic player in Senegal's transport sector. For some time now, we have seen the national company contribute to major events in the country. And it is in this same vein that we intend to play our full role in contributing to the success of these games, which will be held here in Senegal in 2026," stressed Assane Mbengue.

Through this partnership, DDD has committed to providing its expertise and know-how in the field of urban transport. The aim here is to ensure "guaranteed mobility" for all participants, including athletes and officials, throughout the YOG period.

The national transport company has also committed to supporting the communication and marketing of these Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. To this end, the general management has created a strong, coherent, positive and memorable brand image for its buses, a sample of which was unveiled in front of the general coordinator of the COYOG, in order to give this sporting event its full importance.

This partnership will also allow DDD to strengthen its bus fleet to achieve its assigned objectives. On this point, the General Manager informed that his company has launched digitalization projects, to allow the operations team to have a vigilant eye on the different stops and locate the buses in real time during their journey.

“Give full prerogative to DDD to be the official land transport partner”

The general coordinator of the YOGOC, for his part, maintained that the choice of DDD is natural. "The partnership between the YOGOC and the Dakar Dem Dikk company is completely natural. Because the national company is responsible for the entire public transport fleet. And you can imagine that with all these people we expect in 2026, it was completely natural that we turn, firstly out of interest, to DDD and especially as we said, because the highest authorities instructed us to work with the management of DDD and to ensure that the company can play its part. This is what we have just confirmed today through this agreement which allows us to give full prerogative to DDD to be the official land transport partner," Ibrahima Wade said.

In this regard, the General Coordinator of the YOGOC said he was reassured by what he had already had the opportunity to visit on site. "What we had the opportunity to visit makes us extremely proud and reassures us. And I take this opportunity to congratulate the Director General, Assane Mbengue, and his entire team on behalf of President Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye. Because we have seen that, behind all this bus flow, there is a whole intelligent system that has been developed by the company, which reassures and raises our country to the rank of major countries in land public transport. And this proves us more right that we were not mistaken in our choice of DDD," Mr. Wade rejoiced.