(Bloomberg) -- Senegal said it raised about $14 billion in pledges from Western countries, the World Bank and other lenders to fund new infrastructure and improve social services across the West African nation.
The Finance Ministry mentioned France, Canada, the World Bank and Islamic Development Bank among those promising funds for the 2019-23 phase of the so-called Senegal Emergent Plan, which seeks to improve the business climate and attract foreign investment. It didn't give a breakdown of the amounts pledged nor specify if they were loans or grants.
The results “show the trust given to Senegal by the international community,” the government said in a statement after the first of two days of meetings in Paris with the Senegal Consultative Group, a gathering of some Western governments, investors and lenders. President Macky Sall's government had previously said it was seeking 2.85 trillion CFA francs (about $4.9 billion).
Senegal, home to some 16 million people and the second-biggest economy in West Africa's monetary union, has recorded annual economic growth of more than 6 percent since 2015. Sall is set to seek another term in February elections.
The government sold $2.2 billion of Eurobonds in March to finance infrastructure linked to its development plan. The World Bank has warned that rising debt and a widening fiscal gap could hamper the nation's economic growth.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alonso Soto in Dakar at asoto54@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andre Janse van Vuuren at ajansevanvuu@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, Paul Richardson
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