In West Africa, Dakar occupies a privileged place and intends to preserve its status as a crossroads city, in a growing continent. The “teranga” or Senegalese hospitality has become more than a reputation, a real label that makes this city of just over 3 million inhabitants (out of the 14 million in the country) one of the preferred destinations for tourists and investors due to its accessibility. Thanks to a strong political will materialized by an ambitious program aimed at improving the business environment, the capital has become the locomotive of a country which aims for the top 100 of the Doing Business Africa ranking and which wins the bet of the emergence.
According to the 1st edition of a study called Cities of Opportunity Africa, published by the PwC firm on the occasion of the Africa CEO Forum 2015, in the ranking of the 20 African cities concerned, Dakar occupies the 11th place. The city is also characterized by very advanced urbanization – of the order of 96.4% – and concentrates the highest density of population, services, infrastructure, decision-making power and wealth. With its capital, whose growth rate is projected at 4.6% in 2015, and 5% in 2016, Senegal is present among the ten most competitive countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Dakar is one of the main destinations on the continent due to its economic dynamism served by a stable political environment. Among its advantages are first of all its accessibility linked to its geographical position for investors who choose to go there. No less than twenty international airlines are present, making Dakar a veritable regional air hub. In 2014, 33,193 aircraft landed at Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport with more than 1,700,000 passengers.
Located just four hours from Madrid, five hours from Paris and eight hours from New York, companies such as Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Air France and Delta serve Dakar. To get to African capitals from Dakar, two hours are enough to reach Abidjan, Conakry or Ouagadougou, and less than four hours for Cotonou, Lomé, Accra and Casablanca. For the east and the south of the continent, in eight hours, the traveler disembarks in Kenya or Ethiopia and in less than ten hours in Pretoria or Cape Town, aboard the companies of these countries. Dakar receives 700,000 tourists a year, which places it at the forefront of destinations in sub-Saharan Africa.
Forbes
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