AGP Executive Report

Senegal Heritage & Memory: In Saint-Louis, traces of the transatlantic slave-trading past are being erased, even as a surviving 1820s slave depot building and its river-facing plaque keep the story visible. Senegal Energy & Industry: MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 in Dakar (1–3 Dec) confirms Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Energy Minister El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf as official patrons, as the country pushes ahead with new oil and gas output. STEM & Research Culture: A Scientific Day spotlights African women in STEM and tackles research biases, aiming to shift who gets seen and supported in labs and studies. Digital & Media Tech: At the 7th China-Africa Media Cooperation Forum in Beijing, delegates discussed AI in broadcasting and tech-empowered content, with China donating equipment to Africa’s AUB content exchange. Food Systems Investment: The Africa Food Systems Forum returns to Kigali (31 Aug–5 Sep) with a focus on turning past commitments into investable projects, jobs, and resilience. Health & Cooperation: Chinese medical teams continue long-running healthcare partnerships in Africa, with plans under the 2025–2027 Beijing Action Plan to expand personnel and joint health centers.

Senegal Energy & Investment: Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Energy Minister Dr. El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf will officially back MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 in Dakar (1–3 Dec), as the country pushes deeper into oil and gas development. AI in Education (Senegal in focus): AWS is expanding NBA Math Hoops across Africa with an AI and cloud layer, targeting learners in Senegal (alongside SA, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt) to improve maths through personalised, basketball-based lessons. Digital Divide & Media Tech: African delegates at the 7th China-Africa Media Cooperation Forum in Beijing highlighted tech-empowered content and AI use in broadcasting, with China donating equipment to the AU’s content exchange efforts. Food Systems Investment: The 20th Africa Food Systems Forum (Kigali, 31 Aug–5 Sep) will turn past commitments into investable projects, jobs and resilience, building on Senegal’s 2025 legacy programmes. Civic Space Watch: A new analysis flags how repressed civic space can hurt transparency and investment appeal, noting Senegal’s recent improvement in civic conditions. Heritage & Memory (Senegal): AFP reports that Saint-Louis’ remaining traces of the transatlantic slave trade are fading as preservation lags behind history’s urgency.

Senegal Energy & Geoscience: Viridien signed a strategic multi-client deal with Petrosen to deliver improved subsurface intelligence in the MSGBC basin, aiming to raise Senegal’s exploration appeal with better data, capacity building and new regional benchmarks. STEM & Gender Equity: A UNESCO-linked gap study highlights that while women are ~47% of STEM graduates in Africa, they’re far less present in AI research and leadership; Senegal’s Mame Diarra Touré is pushing change via AFSA’s Scientific Day at McGill on Aug. 25. AI in Education (Senegal included): AWS is expanding NBA Math Hoops across sub-Saharan Africa, adding an AI/cloud layer to personalise maths learning for pupils in Senegal, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa. Health & Research: The World Vegetable Center reported revenue falling to US$27.7m in 2025, while funding shifts continue to shape vegetable biodiversity work. Public Health & Rights: At AIDS 2026, speakers warned that LGBTQ criminalisation fuels HIV risk by pushing people away from services. Heritage in Senegal: Saint-Louis is working to preserve (and spotlight) traces of its transatlantic slave-trade past as key reminders fade.

AI in Education: AWS is expanding NBA Math Hoops across Senegal and four other countries, adding AI and cloud tools to personalize maths lessons and track progress for thousands of pupils by 2027. Digital Divide & Media Tech: African delegates at the China-Africa Media Cooperation Forum praised China’s push to narrow the digital divide, including new AI use in radio/TV and equipment support for the AU’s broadcasting work. Energy Data for Exploration: Viridien signed a multi-client deal with Senegal’s Petrosen to deliver better offshore subsurface data, aiming to boost Senegal’s appeal for future exploration investment. Women in STEM Research: A UNESCO-linked discussion highlights the gap between women’s STEM graduation rates and their low representation in AI research and leadership, with Senegal-born researcher Mame Diarra Touré calling for safer, less biased AI. Heritage & Memory in Senegal: Saint-Louis’ remaining slave-trade depot traces are being erased quietly, raising alarms for preservation of lesser-known history. Public Safety Tech Debate: In the US, a Georgia sheriff offered a reward after a Flock Safety camera was damaged, reigniting privacy concerns around automated license plate surveillance.

AI in Education: AWS is expanding NBA Math Hoops with an AI + cloud layer, aiming to reach 10,000 pupils across Senegal, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt by end-2027, starting with a South Africa pilot that personalises maths lessons for each learner. Health & Safety: Senegal is among the focus areas as a new on-the-ground report highlights biomedical waste problems—unchecked syringes and hospital waste that can endanger patients and communities. Energy Data for Exploration: Viridien signed a multi-client subsurface intelligence deal with Petrosen to improve offshore geoscience data in Senegal’s MSGBC basin, aiming to boost exploration investment. STEM Gender Gap: A Scientific Day in Senegal-linked research circles spotlights how women’s strong STEM representation doesn’t translate into AI research authorship and leadership, raising bias and patient-safety concerns. Heritage in Focus: In Saint-Louis, Senegal, AFP reports traces of the transatlantic slave-trade past are fading as a key preserved slave depot building deteriorates. Learning from the Past: A separate piece explains how film festivals help keep African cultural conversations alive worldwide.

Energy & Data for Exploration: French geoscience firm Viridien signed a multi-client deal with Senegal’s Petrosen to improve offshore subsurface data in the MSGBC basin, aiming to boost exploration decisions and capacity building. STEM & Research Equity: Senegal-born AI researcher Mame Diarra Touré highlights bias risks as women remain underrepresented in AI research authorship; she’s linked to an upcoming AFSA Scientific Day focused on African women in health statistics. Health & Waste Safety: Senegal-based reporting flags “syringes on beaches” and unchecked biomedical waste across West and Central Africa, warning of infection risks to patients and communities. Public Finance Tech: BudgIT marks 15 years, saying its civic-tech tools (Tracka, GovSpend) now reach 22M people across Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Senegal to track budgets and projects. Oil & Trade Policy: Senegal’s Petrosen/energy news comes alongside a separate sugar export decision in Pakistan that could raise local prices—useful context for how commodity policy affects markets. Heritage & Memory: Saint-Louis’ fading slave-trade traces and a surviving slave depot building underscore how history is being lost unless preserved.

Ebola Watch: Congo’s Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has passed 5,000 confirmed cases and 2,300 deaths, with WHO warning it could eventually outgrow the 2014–2016 West Africa crisis. Land & Climate Resilience: At COP16 follow-ups, experts warn that “desertification” is really soil degradation driven by drought and land mismanagement, and they point to agroecology and drought-resilience partnerships as practical fixes. Biomedical Waste in Focus: Senegal and the wider region face unsafe hospital waste, including syringes found near beaches, as health facilities struggle with weak biomedical waste management systems. Civic Tech & Transparency: BudgIT marks 15 years, saying its tools have reached 22M citizens across Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal and Ghana by making budgets and spending easier to track. Digital Finance for SMEs: Veefin and NSIA Group partner to expand supply chain finance across Senegal and four other West African markets, aiming to speed up supplier payments via digital factoring. Mobility Fintech Funding: Naran raises $10M to expand rent-to-own vehicle financing, including plans for Senegal, with telematics and fleet management software at the core. Cultural Heritage & Reparations: UWI professor Sonjah Stanley Niaah joins an international panel on restitution of African cultural heritage, linked to UN resolutions and Accra discussions. Senegal Justice & Rights: Senegal reports forced anal examinations tied to an online sextortion case, raising serious human-rights and medical-ethics concerns.

Biomedical Waste & Public Health: Senegal and the region face mounting risk as hospitals generate hard-to-track biomedical waste, with reports of “syringes on beaches” and syringes/vials abandoned in neighbourhoods, raising alarms for children and patients. Judicial Abuse: Senegal authorities reportedly used forced anal examinations in a case tied to alleged online sextortion, including heterosexual women—sparking renewed scrutiny of pseudo-medical procedures. Civic Tech & Transparency: BudgIT marks 15 years, saying its tools (Tracka, GovSpend and others) have reached 22m citizens across Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia by making public spending easier to follow. Digital Finance for SMEs: Veefin Solutions and NSIA Group partner to expand supply chain finance across five West African markets, aiming to digitise factoring and reverse factoring for working capital. Energy Transition Funding: Morocco and Senegal are listed among priority markets for a proposed $200m African energy transition fund (ATAF) to back renewables, storage, grid upgrades and efficiency. Agritech Cooperation: Korea’s Rural Development Administration reports overseas rice successes, including projects in Africa and Mongolia, using locally adapted methods to boost yields. Regional Research Leadership: Morocco ranks highly in a continent-wide assessment of turning human capital into industrial and tech output, citing research and innovation capacity.

Biomedical Waste Watch: Senegal’s hospitals are generating dangerous biomedical waste, with syringes reportedly found abandoned near neighbourhoods and even beaches—health workers warn it can spread infections to patients and communities. Civic-Tech Accountability: Nigeria’s BudgIT marks 15 years, saying its tools have reached 22m citizens and tracked thousands of public projects across communities, including Senegal. Digital Finance in West Africa: Veefin and NSIA Group partner to expand supply chain finance across Senegal and four other West African markets, aiming to unlock working capital for SMEs via digital reverse factoring and factoring. Mobility Fintech Funding: Naran raises $10m to expand rent-to-own vehicle financing for drivers across Latin America and Africa, including Senegal, using its fleet management and telematics system. Forced Medical Abuse Allegations: Senegalese authorities allegedly used forced anal examinations in an online fraud and blackmail case, including women—rights groups call it inhumane and pseudo-medical. Energy Transition Capital: Morocco is named among priority markets for a $200m African energy transition fund from the AfDB, targeting renewable power, storage, and grid upgrades. AI Fact-Checking in Media: West Africa’s Dubawa team is using AI to better detect claims needing verification, aiming to strengthen journalism against misinformation.

Coup & Corruption Research: A new analysis of 65 years of African coup data finds coups don’t “clean up” governance—each additional successful coup is linked to a measurable drop in the World Bank’s corruption control score, with the mechanism tied to coups suspending the institutions that would catch graft. ECOWAS Tourism Coordination: ECOWAS convened COPITOUR stakeholders in Abuja to strengthen West African tourism business links, with Senegal among the member associations represented. Mobility Fintech Expansion (Senegal): Naran raised $10m to expand rent-to-own vehicle financing for drivers, including plans to grow in Senegal and other markets, using its fleet management tech plus telematics and maintenance. Senegal Justice & Human Rights: Senegalese authorities reportedly used forced anal examinations in an online fraud/blackmail case, including women—sparking renewed scrutiny of pseudo-medical judicial practices. Civic-tech & Budget Transparency: BudgIT marks 15 years, saying its tools have reached 22m citizens across Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal and Ghana. Energy Market Vision: A West Africa energy piece argues the region needs integrated market architecture (not isolated projects) to unlock a potential $3tn energy transaction economy.

Mobile Connectivity & Costs: Senegal’s IPSM report shows mobile voice and data plan prices fell 15.6% year-on-year in the three months to June, driven by Orange cutting prices across high-data usage profiles. Public Finance Transparency: BudgIT says its civic-tech tools have reached 22 million citizens across Nigeria, Senegal and other countries, helping people track budgets and spending through dashboards and project tracking. AI for Fact-Checking: West Africa’s Dubawa is using AI to better spot claims that need verification, with a focus on health and political misinformation. Ebola Watch: Africa CDC reports Central Africa’s Ebola outbreak at about 4,000 confirmed cases and 1,800 deaths, warning it’s spreading faster than past outbreaks. Energy Systems & Regional Markets: A new argument for West Africa stresses building integrated energy market “architecture” (not just projects) to unlock large-scale investment and trade. Togo’s Digital Finance Growth: Togo’s fintech story is evolving from motorcycle taxis to payments, transfers and bill pay, helped by regional instant-payment links. Senegal Culture & Tech Events: Dak’Art 2026 in Dakar opens 19 Nov, with OFF registration closing 13 Sept—an arts-and-repair theme that keeps Senegal’s innovation ecosystem visible. Sports & Youth Development: Senegal-linked coverage includes beach volleyball development progress and broader calls for stronger youth pipelines.

AI Fact-Checking in West Africa: Dubawa’s CJID team in Abuja is building smarter AI to spot social-impact claims before they spread, aiming to separate questions from verifiable claims and strengthen public accountability. Mobile Prices in Senegal: Senegal’s mobile price index fell 15.6% year-on-year in Q2, driven by Orange cutting prices across high-data usage profiles, according to IPSM and ARTP. Ebola Update (DRC): Congo’s Ebola outbreak has reached a sixth province, Bas-Uele, with confirmed cases rising to 4,665 and 2,184 deaths, as delayed detection and strained health services fuel spread. Energy Market Push (West Africa): A new argument for a US$3tn West African energy market stresses building integrated “market architecture,” not just individual projects like pipelines, power plants, and storage. Cybercrime & AI Skills Gap: INTERPOL reports AI is involved in 55% of African cybercrime cases, but only 8% of intelligence analysts have advanced skills to respond. Managed Retreat for Climate Adaptation: More communities are choosing relocation as sea-level and erosion risks outgrow sea walls and other defenses. Senegal Sports/Youth: Nigeria’s U18 beach volleyball women beat Senegal A 2-0 in the final in Senegal, highlighting growing youth development.

Ebola Watch (DRC): Africa CDC says the Central Africa Ebola outbreak is now at about 4,000 confirmed cases with 1,800 deaths, and Reuters reports it has spread to a sixth DRC province, Bas-Uele, raising fears of new contacts. Telecom & Cost of Living (Senegal): Senegal’s mobile price index fell 16% in Q2, driven by Orange cutting prices across high-data plans. Health Regulation (Nigeria): NAFDAC says it’s strengthening oversight of blood and blood products to improve safety across the transfusion chain, noting several African countries (including Senegal) already regulate this through national authorities. Agriculture Systems (Africa): AGRA highlights how seed innovation only works when the full pipeline—from lab to field to market—is built, with examples from Mali and Nigeria. Energy Markets (West Africa): A policy push argues West Africa needs integrated energy market “architecture” to turn resources into investment and better lives, targeting $3tn in cumulative energy transactions by 2035. AI & Cybersecurity (Africa): INTERPOL warns AI is involved in 55% of cybercrime cases across Africa, while only 8% of intelligence analysts have advanced skills to respond. Science & Tech (Senegal region): Gigalab plans to expand across Africa by manufacturing rapid diagnostic tests locally, including HIV, malaria and mpox. Diplomacy (Somalia): The US appoints Ruth Anne Stevens-Klitz as Deputy Chief of Mission to Somalia, with prior public affairs experience in Senegal.

Mobile affordability: Senegal’s IPSM price index shows a 16% Q2 drop in average mobile voice/data prices year-on-year, driven mainly by Orange cutting rates across high-data plans. Education & tech skills: Teachers from Senegal joined a University of Wyoming Engineering Summer Program for Teachers, using Arduino/Raspberry Pi and PictoBlox, Scratch, C++ and Python to build hands-on physical computing lessons. Regional energy markets: Analysts argue West Africa must shift from isolated energy projects to a connected regional market architecture to unlock a potential US$3tn in energy transaction value by 2035. Ebola watch (DRC): Congo’s Ebola outbreak has spread to a sixth province, Bas-Uele, with confirmed cases rising to 4,665 and 2,184 deaths. Cybersecurity & AI: INTERPOL warns AI is involved in 55% of African cybercrime cases, while only 8% of intelligence analysts have advanced skills to respond. Health regulation: Nigeria’s NAFDAC says it’s strengthening oversight of blood and blood products to improve safety across the transfusion chain. AI governance: China’s WAICO push and global AI governance talks signal a new contest over who sets the rules for AI worldwide. Diagnostics expansion: Morocco’s Gigalab plans to scale rapid diagnostic manufacturing across Africa, building on local production for tests including HIV, malaria and mpox. Mobility fintech: UAE mobility lender Naran raises $10m to expand rent-to-own vehicle financing into Senegal and other emerging markets. Energy tech (LNG): Seatrium and Golar advance plans for a potential third FLNG conversion project, extending FLNG capacity for offshore gas monetisation.

Ebola Watch (DRC): The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to a sixth province, Bas-Uele, with confirmed cases rising to 4,665 and 2,184 deaths, as delayed detection and strained health services fuel faster transmission. Telecom & Consumer Tech (Senegal): Senegal’s mobile price index fell 16% year-on-year in Q2, driven by Orange cutting prices across high-data plans, according to IPSM tracking. Energy Markets (West Africa): A push for a US$3tn West African energy market is gaining traction, with experts arguing the region needs integrated market architecture—not isolated projects—to unlock investment and better outcomes. Health Regulation (Nigeria): Nigeria’s NAFDAC says it’s strengthening oversight of blood and blood products to improve quality and safety across the transfusion chain. AI Governance (Global): China’s WAICO launch and Xi’s push for “just and equitable” AI governance signal a new phase in how AI rules may be written. Mobility Fintech (Senegal): UAE startup Naran raised $10m to scale rent-to-own vehicle financing, including in Senegal, using its own fleet management and repayment-history model. STEM Education (Senegal-linked): Teachers from Senegal joined the University of Wyoming’s hands-on engineering summer program, training on robotics and physical computing.

Energy Markets: West Africa should shift from “energy potential” to building an integrated energy system, with one expert arguing the region could reach a US$3tn cumulative energy market by 2035 if countries stop running isolated projects and instead align rules, data standards, and cross-border trading. Telecom Pricing: Senegal’s mobile price index fell 15.6% year-on-year in Q2, driven by Orange cutting prices across high-data usage plans. Health Security (Ebola): The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has spread to a sixth province (Bas-Uele), with confirmed cases and deaths rising as officials warn about delayed detection and strained health services. Agriculture Systems: AGRA marks 20 years by stressing that better seeds only help when the full pipeline—from lab to farmer to market—is funded and supported. Diagnostics & Health Tech: Morocco’s Gigalab plans to expand across Africa by manufacturing rapid tests locally, including HIV, hepatitis, malaria, mpox and syphilis. Mobility Fintech: UAE startup Naran raised $10m to scale rent-to-own vehicle financing in Senegal and other markets, backed by its fleet management tech. Cybersecurity Skills Gap: INTERPOL says AI is involved in 55% of African cybercrime cases, but only 8% of intelligence analysts have advanced skills to fight it.