• Senegal plans to train hundreds of engineers and thousands of youths in cloud computing for Dakar 2026.

• The government partnered with Alibaba to build a sovereign cloud infrastructure for the event.

• The initiative forms part of a broader strategy to develop local digital skills and data sovereignty.

Senegal is partnering with Alibaba Group to train engineers and thousands of young people in cloud computing, as the country prepares to host the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics.

The government plans to train around 100 engineers and several thousand young people in cloud-related skills to support the digital infrastructure required for the Games. Alioune Sall, minister of Communication, Telecommunications and Digital Economy, announced the initiative, according to the Agence sénégalaise de presse.

The project relies on a partnership with Alibaba Group, which will support the deployment of a sovereign cloud infrastructure designed to host critical data for the event.

Authorities are building the cloud platform to meet high standards of availability and scalability. The infrastructure will handle sensitive data linked to the Games and support applications for accreditation, administration and visitor management.

Moreover, the platform will serve as a training base to develop local expertise capable of operating and maintaining the systems over time.

“The training will start very soon. It has not started yet because we have just completed the deployment of physical infrastructure in the data centers. We received the equipment, we installed it, and Senegalese and Chinese engineers working at Alibaba tested it to verify mirroring and redundancy,”Alioune Sall said.

Senegal will host the Youth Olympics in Dakar from October 31 to November 13, 2026, marking the first time the event takes place in Africa.

In addition to sports infrastructure, the event requires robust digital systems to manage data, accreditations and administrative services. Authorities are finalizing several digital applications, including tools to facilitate entry procedures and manage visitor flows.

The initiative aligns with the “New Deal technologique,” Senegal’s digital roadmap launched in 2025 to position the country as a regional technology hub.

The strategy prioritizes data sovereignty, digital skills development and the creation of a competitive digital economy. It targets the training of 100,000 digital graduates, including 90% certified experts, and aims to host 100% of sensitive data within the country.

Beyond the Youth Olympics, authorities aim to leverage these investments to build a sustainable digital ecosystem. The training of engineers and technicians will reduce reliance on foreign expertise and strengthen local capacity.

As a result, Senegal seeks to establish a domestically controlled digital infrastructure capable of supporting new services and attracting technology investment.

This article was initially published in French by Samira Njoya

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum