During the blessed month of Ramadan, the High Authority of Waqf (HAW) organized the second edition of its institutional Iftar (breaking of the Ramadan fast) on Thursday, March 5, 2026. Presided over by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, this annual HAW event, held in Dakar, provided a valuable opportunity for dialogue and exchange with stakeholders regarding the development of waqf in Senegal, in line with the National Transformation Agenda "Senegal 2050".

HAW, a pioneering institution in sub-Saharan Africa

In his welcoming remarks, the Chairman of the Supervisory Commission of the High Authority of Waqf, Mr. El Hadji Amar Lo, recalled that the HAW is a pioneering institution in sub-Saharan Africa, whose architecture is based on two complementary bodies: the Supervisory Commission and the General Directorate.

He stressed that the Supervisory Commission ensures compliance, transparency and good governance in the management of public and private waqfs, essential conditions for consolidating trust and ensuring the credibility of the institution.

Emphasizing the social significance of the waqf, he recalled that it constitutes a structured instrument of solidarity and social justice, open to all and capable of mobilizing resources for development.

In this regard, El Hadji Amar Lo invited all stakeholders – public authorities, private sector, technical partners and diaspora – to take greater ownership of this instrument within a formal and secure framework, in line with the transformation ambitions of the Senegal 2050 Agenda.

Twelve new private waqfs registered with a combined value of over 408 million FCFA

The Director General of the High Authority of Waqf, Dr. Ahmed Lamine Athie, presented the institution's activity report for 2025 and the prospects for the development of waqf in Senegal. He highlighted the progress made in operationalizing public waqfs and the growth of private waqfs, with the registration of twelve new private waqfs between January 2025 and January 2026, for a combined value of over 408 million CFA francs.

Dr. Athie reports that the overall value of formalized and registered private waqfs with the High Authority of Waqf is currently estimated at over 4.6 billion CFA francs, while the identified potential of waqfs not yet formalized, for the most part, exceeds 17 billion CFA francs.

The contribution of the waqf to strengthening solidarity mechanisms and mobilizing resources was praised.

Having come to participate in the meeting at the invitation of the CEO of HAW, accompanied by the Minister of Microfinance and Social and Solidarity Economy, the Minister to the President of the Republic, in charge of Monitoring, Steering and Evaluation of the National Transformation Agenda "Senegal 2050", Mr. Ahmadou Al Aminou Lô, read the message of the Prime Minister in place of his colleague Moustapha Mamba Guirassy, who was unable to arrive on time due to constraints related to his activities.

Al Aminou Lô, on behalf of the Prime Minister, praised the contribution of the waqf to the consolidation of solidarity mechanisms and the mobilization of resources for national development, in line with the strategic orientations of the National Transformation Agenda Senegal 2050.

The ceremony also included the presentation of eight certificates of establishment for private waqfs formalized during the year 2025. This second edition of the institutional IFTAR brought together a high-level audience including representatives of public authorities, religious leaders, technical and financial partners, private sector actors, philanthropists, as well as members of the diplomatic corps and civil society. It served to strengthen dialogue among stakeholders and promote waqf as a sustainable lever for solidarity and financing inclusive development.

It should be remembered that the waqf, often presented as a lasting charity, is a solidarity mechanism which consists of immobilizing an asset (money, land, building, etc.) in perpetuity or temporarily, so that the income it generates is used sustainably to finance social or general interest actions.

The HAW, for its part, is an independent administrative authority, established by Law No. 2015-11 of May 6, 2015, concerning waqf, and attached to the Prime Minister's Office. It is responsible for promoting waqf in Senegal, supervising and monitoring private waqfs, and fostering the development of public waqfs. Through the waqf mechanism, the HAW mobilizes resources to support the State's social policies.