Cybersecurity, networks, training: Senegal signs a framework agreement with Nokia

Senegal has added a major name in the telecoms sector to its list of digital partners. On 30 September 2026, at the President Mamadou Dia Administrative Building in Dakar, the Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Technology signed a memorandum of understanding with Nokia. The Ministry was represented by its Secretary-General, Serigne Ahmadou Bamba Sy. The ambassadors of Finland, the group’s country of origin, and of the European Union attended the ceremony, a sign that the partnership extends beyond a purely commercial framework.

Nokia is no longer the mobile phone manufacturer that many Senegalese carried in their pockets in the 2000s. The Finnish group is now one of the world’s leading suppliers of mobile and fixed-line network equipment, alongside Sweden’s Ericsson and China’s Huawei. It is this expertise that Dakar wishes to harness for its digital strategy.

Five projects, no figures

The agreement covers five areas: network connectivity and resilience, cybersecurity, digital public services, innovation and skills development. On this last point, the text emphasises the transfer of expertise to Senegalese talent and the creation of local value – two requirements that the government prioritises in most of its technology partnerships.

However, this document must be viewed for what it is: a framework for cooperation. It contains neither a list of finalised projects nor any quantified financial commitments. Both parties must first identify priority initiatives, set their objectives and examine how to implement them. Monitoring mechanisms and a joint programme of activities are planned. Each selected project may then be the subject of a separate implementation agreement, which will finally set out timetables and budgets.

Support for the Technological New Deal

This partnership forms part of the Technology New Deal, the digital strategy launched in February 2025 by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. The programme, which runs until 2034, provides for investments totalling 1,105 billion CFA francs and aims, in particular, to have 90 per cent of administrative procedures carried out online. To achieve this, the government needs more robust and better-protected networks: a paperless administration becomes vulnerable as soon as its servers or connections go down.

Cybersecurity is, in fact, one of the continent’s weak points. Attacks on public institutions and businesses are on the rise in West Africa, often involving ransomware that brings entire services to a standstill. Relying on an equipment supplier capable of securing the core of networks and training local engineers meets this need.

It now remains to turn intentions into action. In recent months, Senegal has signed a growing number of agreements with foreign digital sector players. Their value will be measured by the first implementation agreements, the projects actually launched and the number of young Senegalese trained. NovoTech will be monitoring the publication of the joint programme of activities.