The West African Development Bank (BOAD) has inaugurated the new premises of its resident mission in Dakar, Senegal, marking another step in strengthening its integration within the Senegalese economy and the UEMOA region.
The inauguration ceremony attracted institutional leaders, public and private sector partners, as well as representatives of the financial sector, with BOAD officials describing the new office as more than just a relocation, but a symbol of the bank’s growing commitment to regional development.
For BOAD President Serge Ekué, this move symboliased the institution’s commitment to getting closer to the economic and social realities of its member countries.
“BOAD is a social and societal actor. It must be at the heart of the real lives of our people,” he said.
Serge Ekué also emphasised the BOAD’s commitment to expanding its partnerships with the Senegalese private sector.
“We work extensively with the public sector, but we also aim to collaborate more and more with the private sector. Hence the choice of this new space, which will allow us to welcome our partners, clients, shareholders, and investors in an environment characterised by simplicity, transparency, efficiency, and professionalism,” he explained.
The BOAD President said that the new premises reflect the approach the institution wishes to promote in the country.
“There’s nothing flashy here. These premises simply reflect our commitment to working closely with entrepreneurs, creators, and the Senegalese government to support the country’s development,” he stated.
According to him, this establishment aims to strengthen economic ties between the regional bank and Dakar.
“We must establish teams here in Senegal capable of supporting the country’s ambitions over the next 20, 30, or 50 years,” he said.
The Head of the BOAD reiterated the institution’s development focus, whose priorities remain addressing infrastructure, energy, and social housing deficits, as well as challenges related to health and digital technology.
“We are not obsessed with the bottom line,” he stated, stressing that the bank’s primary mission is the tangible improvement of living conditions for the people of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).
Having been housed for over 30 years in the premises of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), the BOAD’s resident mission is thus embarking on a new phase of its development in Senegal, the bank’s second-largest country of exposure in terms of financial commitments.
The BCEAO National Director for Senegal, François Etienne Dethie Sene, described the occasion as “a moment rich in history and emotion,” noting that the central bank’s hosting of BOAD over the decades reflects the institutional solidarity and shared vision of the two regional institutions.
According to him, the inauguration also reflects BOAD’s growth and the strengthening of regional cooperation aimed at building a “more integrated, resilient and prosperous” UEMOA region.
The BOAD President also presented the main points of the new 2026-2030 strategic plan, entitled “Djoliba, the sequel.”
The institution plans to allocate 6.5 trillion CFA francs in financing to this plan, nearly double the previous programme.
In an international context marked by dwindling financing and geopolitical tensions, Serge Ekué affirmed that the BOAD intends to fully play its role as the “financial arm” of the WAEMU member states.
In Senegal, the bank is already supporting several structuring projects in the areas of education, energy, digital technology, and infrastructure, including agricultural vocational high schools, the national gas pipeline, solar power plants and the modernisation of data centres and the submarine cable.
AP
