Aware of the leverage that geospatial sciences and technologies represent in the socio-economic development of a country, Senegal continues to increase its efforts in this area.

 It is in this context that the French Embassy and the Interinstitutional Group for Coordination and Consultation in Geomatics of Senegal (GICC) chaired by Senegal Numerique designed the SEN Spatial project to support the ecosystem of production and use of spatial data and make Senegal a true regional space hub.

The SEN Spatial project aims to support Senegal in the implementation of its National Geomatics Plan (PNG) to serve the innovation ecosystem dedicated to the use of satellite data. It will strengthen human capital and develop a business environment conducive to the emergence of new economic activities that generate jobs and progress. SEN Spatial will thus contribute to making Senegal a leading space country in West Africa.

The project is structured around 04 major components for a duration of 02 years. These components are:

1. Strengthening Human Capital

 In component one, it will be a question of strengthening human capital in the area of ​​the use of satellite data and consolidating the visibility of university training in order to increase their attractiveness. Scholarships for a Master's degree in geomatics will be set up in this regard.

2. Data Accessibility 

 In this part it will be a question of increasing the capacity of access to satellite data through the Geospatial Data Infrastructure of Senegal, in order to facilitate its use by the ecosystem and all the stakeholders concerned. In the background, there is an imperative to regularly update the Géo Senegal portal.

3. Support for the entrepreneurial ecosystem

Raising awareness and training authorities and private actors in the use of satellite data to support the emergence and development of innovative products and services will be accompanied by the organization of meetings aimed at promoting inclusion with Start-ups.

4. General public awareness

Raising awareness among the general public of the scope of satellite data in their daily lives and increasing the attractiveness of STEM among young people remains an essential component of this project.

These 04 components which will serve as guidelines over the entire duration of the project will be enriched by the prospects of thematic workshops to which the actors of the ecosystem will be invited with the objective of continuous capacitation until the completion of the project. This was the whole meaning of the organization of the sharing workshop which was held in the premises of the Ecological Monitoring Center (CSE) from October 02 to 04, 23 with the theme “Workshops for identifying the needs of the public sector around the use of satellite data in Senegal with Space Seed", working session model to refine and support the implementation of the project.