Overview:
• Created in 1912, GENI & KEBE is one of the oldest law firms in the region and the oldest in Senegal.
• We are a full service law firm that can serve corporates, financial institutions and governments.
• Our mission is to help clients to achieve their targets through the delivery of the finest services by a network of highly professional and ethical lawyers.
• Our vision is to be recognised as the leading pan-African law firm, committed to advancing the rule of law and supporting investment in Africa.
• We believe the interest of our clients are at the very heart of our business, and we strive to achieve excellence in everything we do for them.
• We currently have 3 offices in Senegal (Dakar, Mbour and Tambacounda), and one (1) in the Ivory Coast (Abidjan). We are also present in Cameroon and in 13 other affiliates countries.
• We have a total of 45 employees across the 3 countries, including 30 fee earners and 3 clerks
GENI & KEBE, a member of DLA Piper Africa, is a full-service commercial law firm providing legal services in sub-Saharan Africa. Founded in 1912 to provide legal advice to entrepreneurs wishing to undertake business in Sub Saharan Africa, GENI & KEBE is one of the oldest law firms in the region. Over 100 years on, we remain one of the top choices for local and foreign companies, governments and non-government institutions wishing to conduct business in Africa with a Pan-African identity and approach to our work.
Experience tells us that our model – dedicated practitioners with a regional focus who value working collaboratively with clients, affiliates, and international partners – leads to quality legal advice and practical legal solutions for investors. That’s why Chambers Global says we are “a premier firm, thanks to its international approach and high standard of work.”
Our ability to serve clients with excellence is a result of the passion and dedication of our team. We are an international team with lawyers and Counsel with qualifications from leading universities in Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Australia. Our international qualifications underscore our strong foreign perspective, and as a proud home-grown firm, we also know the local business and government environments intimately.
We currently have three (3)offices in Senegal (Dakar, Mbour, and Tambacounda) and one in Côte d’Ivoire (Abidjan). We further possess a strong presence in the continent as we work with affiliate offices in thirteen (13) other countries namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Togo to provide advice across the region. In addition, we are a member firm of DLA Piper Africa, connecting us with leading independent lawyers in twenty (20) countries across Africa and the rest of the world, in partnership with international law firm DLA Piper.
Our Team
We are a dynamic team, bringing varied experiences and complementary technical skills to our workplace.
Our team comes from many different countries including Benin, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, D.R. Congo, Morocco, Senegal, United Kingdom, USA … yet for all our diversity, we have two common traits: a passion for working in the law and a commitment to client service.
Our mission is to help clients to achieve their targets through the delivery of the finest services by a
network of highly professional and ethical lawyers.
Our vision is to be recognised as the leading pan-African law firm in Sub Saharan Africa whilst committed to advancing the rule of law and supporting investment in Africa.
Our team will help you to work in a complex legal environment with a focus on finding practical and easy to understand solutions.
SITUATION IN SENEGAL 2024-2025
- The economic situation in 2024
The year 2025 marks the first year of implementation of the national development strategy, the overall aim of which is to promote endogenous and sustainable development, driven by empowered, viable and competitive territories, and laying the foundations for sovereignty. It is also the first year of full and effective oil and gas production.
Over the recent period, the international economic situation in 2023 has been marked by continuing geopolitical tensions, in particular the Russian Ukrainian crisis and conflicts in the Middle East, as well as by deteriorating security conditions in the sub-region.
Domestic economic activity was also impacted by pre-election social tensions, prompting the authorities to adopt restrictive measures, notably in telecommunications activities, which led to a slowdown in services (financial services, tourism, etc.).
However, economic activity benefited from a good agricultural campaign in 2023/2024, as well as from the effects of various measures to support the national economy, in particular the inflow of significant financial flows into the country through migrant remittances and Foreign Direct Investment.
Economic activity increased in 2023, thanks to the good performance of the primary and secondary sectors, which recorded growth rates that evolved despite a deceleration in services. The year 2024 will be marked by the effective start-up of oil production in June 2024, bringing Senegal into the club of hydrocarbon-producing countries.
However, economic activity was sluggish in 2024, reflecting the uncertainties arising from the political situation that prevailed in the first quarter in connection with the postponement of the presidential election. The momentum of economic activity should be reinforced in 2024 by the effective start-up of oil production, which should have a significant impact on growth, despite the uncertainties at the start of the year.
Financial and insurance services should remain robust, despite the continued tightening of financing conditions for economies both nationally and internationally. However, with the gradual return of the State to the domestic financial market, good prospects are expected for the banking market. As a result, the sub-sector is expected to grow in 2024. This trend is in line with the trend in lending to the economy, which was up at the end of September 2024 compared with the same period in 2023.
The tertiary sector will continue to experience the slowdown that has been underway since 2022, mainly in transport, accommodation and food services, information and communication, and financial and insurance services.
Commercial activities are expected to grow in 2025. This situation should be seen in the context of the slowdown in domestic demand, which has led to an expected fall in the volume of imports of goods and services.
Mining and extracting activities will show a strong increase on the previous year, mainly due to oil and gas production. Mining and quarrying excluding oil and gas’, on the other hand, is likely to decline, mainly as a result of lower gold production.
Refining activity, for its part, is likely to post a decline after a strong recovery in 2023. In the first nine months of 2024, oil refining activity is expected to decline, due to lower imports of crude oil, mainly as a result of higher oil prices.
In the construction sub-sector, activity is set to slow as a result of the stoppage of several public works projects in the second quarter of the year. Over the first nine months of 2024, local cement sales did not consolidate, leading to a downward revision of growth in the sector, compared with an increase a year earlier.
Construction materials manufacturing is also expected to grow in 2025. Total cement production and exports have risen. However, the improvement in the international raw materials situation has had a positive impact on the supply of basic products, in particular clinker and coal, which are intermediate products used in the cement manufacturing process for some of the country's cement plants.
Information and communication services are expected to grow slowly in 2024. This slowdown would be linked, among other things, to other ‘information and communication services’, in particular television, which is in active competition with new online sources of information. Nevertheless, the sub-sector continues to benefit from the strong performance of mobile telephony and the internet. In addition, the use of the internet through the strengthening of national coverage in 4G and fibre optics should further boost activity in the telecommunications sub-sector.
- Economic outlook for 2025
In 2025, full-year oil and gas production will boost the economy.
In the primary sector, activity is expected to increase in 2025, supported by all sub-sectors. The primary sector, which accounts for more than 17.0% of GDP, is expected to contribute 0.9 percentage points to growth in 2025. The start of the period under review should see the consolidation of the gains made in the agricultural sector, and the establishment of the first milestones, notably communal agricultural cooperatives with a view to achieving food self-sufficiency, with the aim of strengthening the bargaining power of members in terms of both the acquisition of inputs and financing, and the marketing of products.
This cooperative policy will be supplemented in the medium term by land reform, the operationalisation of agropoles and support programmes to ensure food security.
Livestock farming, for its part, should consolidate its momentum. Economic growth in this sub-sector is forecast for this year. It will also benefit from the communal agricultural cooperatives that are also active in the livestock sector. Economic activity in the fishing industry is expected to benefit primarily from efforts to preserve and restore marine biodiversity, including habitats. It would also benefit from initiatives to develop aquaculture and add value to fish production.
The fishing sub-sector would also benefit from the implementation of the strategic plan for inland fishing and the installation of fish feed production units to boost the development of aquaculture. In addition, the improved governance of the sector that has been initiated with the publication of the list of fishing vessels present in Senegalese waters should make it possible to reduce illegal or undeclared fishing. Finally, the non-renewal of fisheries agreements with the European Union will certainly encourage the reproduction of resources and benefit small-scale fishing.
The secondary sector will continue the momentum that began in 2024, driven by oil and gas production. Overall, growth is expected in the secondary sector. This dynamism will be largely underpinned by extractive activities in the wake of oil and gas production, which is expected to increase in the same year. Growth in the non-hydrocarbon secondary sector is expected to be underpinned by renewed activity in the agri-food, refining, construction materials and public works sectors. Non-hydrocarbon growth is therefore forecast for 2025.
In addition to hydrocarbons, gold mining will be boosted by the Massawa gold project, the heavy minerals project, the titanium and rutile production project, the FALEME iron ore project (MIFERSO), which is currently being relaunched, the Boya project on Diamba, and the BOTO gold project, which is currently under development.
The manufacture of agri-food products will be on the rise in 2025, marking a revival in activity after a recent difficult period. This dynamism will be underpinned by the strength of the ‘edible fats’ business, which should grow because of the measures taken by the authorities to improve the supervision of groundnut seed collection, and the continued recovery of SONACOS SA. In the same vein, activities related to the ‘processing of husked rice and flour’ will also progress, benefiting from the good trend in rice production.
The oil refining business should remain dynamic, taking advantage of the opportunity to source some of its crude oil from Sangomar. At the same time, the sub-sector will also benefit from the efforts made as part of SAR's restructuring process. Activity is expected to increase by 2025. Activity in the manufacture of basic chemicals is expected to recover, putting the sector on a growth path in 2025, compared with a decline in 2024.
In addition, the implementation of structuring projects to achieve food self-sufficiency should be a stimulating factor for fertiliser production, against a backdrop of increased agricultural production, as well as expanding global demand for chemical products and fertilisers.
In the electricity sub-sector, the rehabilitation of SENELEC's production capacity will continue, as will the expansion of national electricity coverage, particularly in rural areas, thanks to the implementation of the second phase of the MCA Senegal Compact. The sub-sector will also benefit from progress in the field of renewable energies, as well as improved quality of service through increased production capacity.
As a result, the electricity and gas sub-sector should continue to perform well and make progress. In the construction sector, activity is expected to be marked by a timid recovery in public investment works and an improvement in household confidence following the pacification of the political arena. However, the sector is likely to continue to suffer from the setback caused by the suspension of building permits.
The building materials sub-sector is also expected to remain buoyant, in line with developments in the construction and public works sector, in order to meet domestic and external demand, particularly from other neighbouring countries, with the expected installation of a fourth cement plant. Overall, the building materials sector is expected to grow in 2025.
The tertiary sector should be on a comfortable growth trajectory. It should benefit from the renewed dynamism of all the sub-sectors, as well as from a much more favourable international environment.
The transport sub-sector should benefit from the good performance of other economic activities and the gradual development of the national rail network. At the same time, the strengthening of Air Sénégal SA services and the rehabilitation and upgrading of regional airports should further consolidate activity in this sub-sector.
Accommodation and catering services should pick up pace after a sharp slowdown in 2024 due to the uncertainties arising from the postponement of the presidential election. The sub-sector will also benefit from the support of the State, which will continue its efforts to make local tourism more attractive and to prepare for the Youth Olympic Games scheduled for 2026.
Activity in the tertiary sector is also set to benefit from the good performance of information and communication services, driven by mobile phones and broadband internet (4G and 5G), which should see demand fuelled by both demographic growth and the gradual digitisation of the economy.
- Senegal's political situation 2024
Senegal experienced a political crisis between 2021 and 2024. During this period, Senegal experienced unprecedented political tension. This crisis caused significant loss of human life and economic assets associated with the effects of COVID 19. With the presidential and legislative elections held without a post-election crisis, political stability was once again reinvigorated. Since independence, Senegal has always held regular, multi-party elections. Added to this is the fact that Senegal has historically been a source of regional stability because of the peace that reigns there and its flourishing democracy. Elections are generally held on the due date.
With this third changeover, the climate of insecurity and uncertainty between 2021 and 2024 is a thing of the past. With this political stability, the climate has become conducive to investment. The Senegal Vision 2050 programme is a structured response to a number of challenges. It is based on a concise, rigorous and bold vision. With the strengthening of its security system to prevent and deal with traditional and emerging threats, both internal and external, Senegal remains a country of peace. The policy of good governance advocated by the new authorities is an incentive for investment in Senegal.