This
section attempts to shed a light on the financing means that are available to
prospective investors.We count the
government, the developmental institutions, the banks, venture capitalists, foreign
direct investments (i.e.: “Time Investment” from Great Britain), and the NGOs as
potential sources of financing.
According
to Dr. Ali B. Ali-Dinar from the Unniversity
of Pennsylvania, there are two sources of funds at the government level: The Fund for the Encouragement of Scientific and
Technical Research (FIRST), and the investment budget through the Triennial Programme of Public Investment (PTIP).Also, there are organizations, such as the
“FPE”, at the national level that provide short, mid, or long-term loans for
activities related to manufacturing.It
focuses on the creation, expansion, and restructuration
of Small and Medium Enterprises, and covers the entire territory. (http://www.gouv.sn/investir/financement.html)
.
Several foreign aid
initiatives have lead to the promotion of Internet, and its role in the social
development in Senegal.Among them
we cite the work of “Enda Tiers Monde” (Cybercop project
for phone centers), “Afrique Initiatives”.The Economic Unit of the French Embassy has
identified several programs that have been initiated by other embassies.For instance, the Acacia initiative has been
created by the Canadian government and is at the origin of the implementation
of a telemedicine system at FannUniversityHospital.Project Leland under the umbrella of the USAID,
has been an important actor in the promotion of TICs
in Senegal (http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/cp2000/afr/senegal.html).Recently, Hewlett-Packard partnered with the
famous Senegalese singer, YoussouNdour,
under the project Joko
to provide internet access in the villages.
Besides these actors,
there several other movements promoting the development in IT sectors and in
the private sector.Africa 2005 is an
important and positive initiative (www.africa2005.com)
that has for goal to make 2005, the year for investments in Africa.The
movement proposes to encourage foreign investors to fund projects for the
creation, expansion, and growth of private enterprises.Individuals are encouraged to submit a
business plan that will be reviewed.
However,
before getting to the investing part, prospectives
investors have to go through the “APIX” (“AgenceNationale pour la promotion des Investissements
et des GrandsTravaux”),
which the Presidential arm for the promotion of investments and for the
acceptation of big projects (http://www.gouv.sn/organismes/apix.html).The agency reports directly to the President
of Senegal and supervise:
The research and
identification of potential investors
The promotion of Senegal as a strong
candidate for investments
The care and guiding
of potential investors
The facilitation of
administrative procedures
The access to
information necessary to investors, such as economic, social, or business
laws
The assistance in
the creation of partnership
I
recommend that prospective investors start with the embassy of their respective
countries to get an idea of the current investing climate.However, as opposed to its neighbors, Senegal has benefited from a
very stable political environment.Senegal is the USA's most important
francophone partner in sub-Saharan Africa (http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/cp2000/afr/senegal.html).
In
order to encourage investments, I believe that African countries, and Senegal in our case, should
improve on providing accurate, recent, and valid information.Indeed, sound judgments cannot be made
without this type of information.Moreover, the Senegalese government should ensure that its laws protect
the investments of foreign venture capitalists.I believe that one of the reasons that foreign investors are reluctant
to set foot in most African countries is the fear of losing their financial
investments, thus laws have to be enforced.
