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« Böllo Ngir Meuneul Sunu Bopp »
« Gathering together to have our own means »
In September 2025, the State of Senegal launched a Public Savings Bond (EPA) of the CFAF 300 billion, open to Senegalese from within and to the diaspora.
With interest rates ranging from 6.40 % to 6.95 % and maturities between 3 and 10 years, this operation is intended to be patriotic and mobilising.
The slogan in Wolof « Böllo Ngir Meuneul Sunu Bopp » — « to come together to have our own means » — This is a call for national and diasporic bursts to finance the Finance Act Amending 2025 and support the major projects of « Senegal 2050 », the country's strategic transformation agenda.
But behind the communication momentum, there is a question: Is this borrowing really the best way to mobilize the resources of the Senegalese diaspora and households, or is this a classic debt operation that adds to already fragile public finances?
An attractive financial transaction
The technical characteristics of the EPA are clear:
- Amount: 300 billion CFA francs.
- Nominal value: 10 000 FCFA (accessible to small savers).
- Rate: 6.40 per cent (3 years) to 6.95 per cent (10 years).
- Subscription: open from 15 September to 10 October 2025.
- Legal framework: covered by the Financial Markets Authority of UMOA.
- Taxation: Tax exemption for residents in Senegal.
The message is simple: every Senegalese, from the country or from outside, can become a lender to their state and participate in the collective effort. On paper, the scheme is inclusive, accessible and financially attractive.
Context: Public finances under stress
Where questions begin, it is about the budgetary context. The debt ratio in Senegal was recently revised upwards : it would now exceed 110% of GDP, according to several sources, a level that led to a degradation of sovereign note by Standard & Poor Summer 2025.
Clearly, the country is already borrowing a lot.
Every new fund-raising, even patriotic, helps to inflate debt before investments generate returns.
However, the agenda plans « Senegal 2050 » — infrastructure, energy, industrialization — are long-term projects whose financial benefits will not materialize for years to come.
Diaspora's stake: a financial manna to capture otherwise
Senegalese diaspora sends annually almost 10% of GDP in transfers. It's a considerable force. The idea of mobilizing this money to finance development is therefore relevant. But the chosen tool is a problem.
The experience of other countries is enlightening:
- Israel and India raised billions from their diaspora through loans backed by clear strategies and solid guarantees.
- Ethiopiaon the contrary, failed with its « diaspora leaps » lack of transparency and concrete projects.
Diaspora wants to know Where his money goes and how it will be reimbursed. A global, even patriotic, budget loan does not generate the same enthusiasm as a financial product backed by a visible and measurable project.
The limits of classical borrowing
This EPA, as it stands, suffers from several weaknesses:
- He mechanically increases the stock of debt, without a clear financial flow mechanism allowing repayment , .
- He does not target specific projectsmaking it difficult to trace funds.
- He may recycle the same investor base than usual (banks, institutions, a few wealthy households), rather than actually expanding domestic savings.
- He does not propose a specific return to the diaspora, which remains simple creditor, without voice in governance or share of added value.
In other words, despite the mobilising slogan, we remain in the pattern of a classic loan.
What more motivating alternatives?
Floating towards concrete projects
A diaspora loan would be much more motivating if it were supported by visible and bankable projects, as:
- Solar electrification in Senegal, via photovoltaic plants and rural mini-networks.
- Rehabilitation of the Dakar–Bamako railway, to transfer road freight to rail, reduce logistics costs and limit pollution.
- The creation of an industrial fabric enabling the country to transform our mineral resources in order to capture the value added.
In these cases, the income generated by the projects can be used directly to repay the bonds. This ensures a clear link between investment and repayment.
Creating Mixed Economy (SEM) Societies with diaspora
Instead of only making the diaspora a lender, why not make it shareholder companies created around strategic sectors:
- Transformation of our mineral resources to capture more value added,
- agro-industrial processing (peanut, mango, fish),
- energy and materials,
- logistics and transport.
With SEM listed in the BRVMthe diaspora would become co-owner of value-added projects. It would not only receive dividends, but also contribute to the country's productive destiny.
What it would change
Such a model would have several advantages:
- Reducing debt growth, because some of the funds would be capital rather than borrowing.
- Building confidence in the diaspora, thanks to the transparency and visibility of projects.
- Aligning funding to « Senegal 2050 », orienting savings towards structural projects.
- Giving a citizen and economic dimension : Senegalans from inside and outside would see in practice the fruits of their investment.
Moving from financial patriotism to project governance
The APE 2025 of Senegal is a courageous initiative in its form, but limited in its substance. It remains a classic sovereign debt that increases public debt without offering a new perspective to the diaspora.
To transform this effort into a real lever of development, we must go further: endorsing some of the obligations to traceable projects, create dedicated vehicles with income, and launch SEM open to the diaspora to become a shareholder and not just a lender.
In other words, it is a question of moving from a logic of general funding to a logic of project financing, where confidence, transparency and impact become the real guarantees.
Because if the diaspora and the Senegalese inside are ready to invest, they want to do it knowing why, where, and with what results. It is at this price that the patriotic call « Böllo Ngir Meuneul Sunu Bopp » will turn into a real financial revolution for development.
