The first edition of the Dakar Terminal Digital Forum was held on Tuesday 20 October 2026 in Dakar. The exchanges focused on the digitalisation of port operations, the interconnection of information systems, cyber security and the role of innovation in improving logistic performance.
Dakar Terminal, subsidiary of the group Africa Global Logistics (AGL), organised on Tuesday 20 October 2026, in Dakar, the first edition of the Dakar Terminal Digital Forum. The meeting brought together port officials, representatives of public administrations, actors in the supply chain, technological enterprises and start-ups around the theme of the digital transformation of the harbour trades.
The objective was to examine ways to improve the fluidity of operations, the quality of services and the competitiveness of the Senegalese port.
At the opening of the works, the managing director of Dakar Terminal, Assane Diouf, has emphasized the evolution of the requirements imposed on the harbour operators. According to him, competitiveness is no longer based solely on infrastructure and equipment.
It also depends on the ability of actors to exploit data, coordinate operations and connect the various links in the supply chain. He presented the forum as an annual meeting, with a focus on start-ups and young entrepreneurs to bring their solutions closer to the business needs of the sector.
The Director General of the Autonomous port of Dakar, Doune Pathé Mbengue, has for its part included digital transformation in the ambitions of the National Transformation Agenda Senegal 2050. He recalled that the modernization of the port of Dakar, the development of the port of Ndayane, the port plan of Bargny-Sendou and the upgrading of the regional ports should be linked with the logistic corridors and the needs of the countries of the hinterland.
He also stressed the dematerialization of procedures, the interconnection of information systems and the secure sharing of data. For him, technologies must help to reduce delays, control costs and improve flow traceability.
The issue of cooperation among actors has been an important part of the interventions. Ibrahima Nour Eddine Diagne, Chief Executive Officer of Gaindé 2000, has recalled that the port performance depended as much on organization and skills as on available technologies. In particular, he highlighted the difficulties associated with the lack of coordination between different ecosystem entities.
Representative of General Directorate of Customs, Colonel Ousmane Kane, also stressed the need to make IT systems interoperable and to further dematerialize procedures. He also called for special attention to computer security in a context of cyber attacks.
The discussions also focused on user ownership of digital tools. Representative of the Community of Port Actors of Senegal (CAP Senegal), Mustapha Sall recalled that any reduction in processing times and any dematerialised formality could help to reduce costs to businesses and consumers.
It has emphasized the role of the single port window in the simplification of procedures, while stressing that its effectiveness would depend on its adoption by the entire port community.
The programme also included an innovation sequence, during which three start-ups presented solutions for port trades, logistics and supply chain.
A high-level panel led by Tabara Orissa Diop founder of VIAFRICA Advisory and expert in logistics transport and digital transformation FCILT has then addressed the technological, operational and human levers of the port performance.
At the end of this first edition, interventions converged on several priorities: strengthening cooperation between actors, securing data exchange, developing skills and focusing on digital solutions whose effects can be measured on the time, costs and quality of services.
