The key points are temporarily unavailable. You can still read the full Story below.
Main Points
During a visit to Washington on September 14, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye met with a delegation from the American cybersecurity firm Cybastion, led by CEO Thierry Wandji. Following the meeting, the company announced plans to mobilize approximately 300 million dollars, equivalent to roughly 171 billion CFA francs, to support digital projects in Senegal. These initiatives are intended to cover cybersecurity, the fight against cybercrime, data centers, technology transfer, and national skills development.
While the announcement outlines broad objectives, specific details regarding the contract, the distribution of funds, the project timeline, and the financial obligations of the Senegalese state remain undisclosed. According to reports, the 300 million dollar figure represents a commitment to secure funding through a combination of public and private sources, rather than a direct investment or a finalized financial package. The projects remain subject to further negotiations and funding approvals.
Cybastion, co-founded in 2019 by Thierry Wandji, has previously secured digital security contracts in several francophone African nations. In July, Senegal’s Minister of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, Samba Diouf, signed a partnership agreement with the firm in Washington. This agreement designates Cybastion to lead a consortium of American technology companies in deploying digital infrastructure, utilizing the company’s proprietary Digital Fast Track platform.
The proposed projects arrive as Senegal seeks to address recent cybersecurity challenges, including data breaches affecting the Public Treasury, the Directorate of Automated Files, and the Directorate General of Taxes and Domains. The government is also working toward the implementation of its New Deal Technologique, a program valued at 1,105 billion CFA francs for the 2025-2034 period.
Questions remain regarding the financial structure of the partnership, particularly whether the funding will involve public debt or private investment models. As of now, no specific dates for project commencement or contract signatures have been released. The government has stated that all initiatives will be subject to existing legal frameworks, including the 2022 Public Procurement Code and the 2021 law on public-private partnerships, which provide mechanisms for oversight and transparency.
Article source: www.senenews.com | Image credit: www.senenews.com
