On its path to digital sovereignty, Senegal’s government wants to address the country's priorities relative to sustainable development, innovation, and value creation.

Senegal will soon have a National Data Strategy. Earlier this week, Moussa Bocar Thiam, the minister of telecom and digital economy, unveiled progress made in the strategy’s development, ahead of its implementation. 

"We all know that data is essential in today's digital economy. It is important that Senegal, as one of the pioneering countries in this field, establishes a strategy for data governance and data valorization, to see how this data can be processed in the country, and how its use should be regulated," said Thiam. 

Back on March 23rd, 2023, the same official kicked off works to draw the National Data Strategy. The project is supported by Germany, the European Union (EU), and Smart Africa. It meets a need to provide users with a document governing the security and integrity of data during their use. The goal is to make data a driver of socio-economic growth, inclusivity, innovation, and international openness in Senegal by 2028. 

The upcoming strategy is based on fundamental principles such as privacy protection, transparency, and fairness. It also takes into account the regulatory framework, data collection infrastructures (like data centers), and data preservation and exploitation. 

According to Moussa Thiam, implementing the strategy will foster responsible data use, better privacy protection, and promote innovation - all things which should, ultimately, contribute to a flourishing digital future for Senegal.

Samira Njoya