(Important:

-The information in these pages is for general guidance. Before taking any business decision, companies are advised to reconfirm on their own too.

-These pages are still under development; please send your suggestions / feedback to amb.dakar@mea.gov.in )

1. Welcome to the business facilitation page of the Embassy of India in Dakar which is accredited to four countries viz: Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Cabo Verde.

2. To serve you better, we need you to sign-up with us. Please make sure that you use the various fields judiciously to sharply convey your company's profile without being repetitive across various fields. If you do not yet have a website, we suggest you create one, whether of your own, or on social media channels like Facebook and include the URL at the appropriate field.

a. Once you sign up, you would be able to see your company’s name included at https://asp.embassyofindiadakar.gov.in/eoiatne/aLoginT_list2.asp ; you would also be able to search there for other companies registered with the Embassy.

3. If you are already signed-up with us but forgot your login password, please write from your registered email ID to amb.dakar@mea.gov.in stating in the email subject header ‘I need to retrieve my password for EoI Dakar Website’; we would email your password to your registered email.

4. With your login credentials, you would be able to:

a. Check for available business leads from other users of our website using searchable tool.

b. Share your Leads / business interest providing your (1) products / services of interest (2)whether you want to export / import / invest / transfer technology / provide services, or, yourself seek investment / services / transfer of technology (2) URL for detailed information on your business to your prospective partners. You must enter your lead very carefully and sharply. You must make good background research on the market that you want to enter using the information both on Embassy pages and other open sources to make an appropriate lead.

c. Seek organization of subject wise interactions (Note: Embassy would cover those subjects on which there are specific leads)

d. Respond to business leads of your interest sending emails (for suggested multi-lingual format, please see here. As you do the outreach / respond, please note that Senegal is French Speaking; Guinea Bissau and Cabo Verde are Portuguese speaking; and, The Gambia is English speaking).

e. Search contact details of companies of your interest in the country / countries of your interest (as stated above, Embassy of India in Dakar endeavours to connect Indian companies with their counterparts in Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Cabo Verde).

i. Senegal: The directory here is collated from various sources including from database from chambers of commerce. One must supplement the list with open source research.

ii. Other countries (The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Cabo Verde): We are trying to get trade directories from the chambers of commerce from these countries but yet have had no success.

f. Know about forthcoming events / webinars; or, see reports / recording of the previous such events, organized by the Embassy by searching:

i. Events calendar of the Embassy

ii. Past listings / reports / records

g. Register for, and actively participate in, webinars of your interest; webinar registration links are in the Info links at the Events calendar .

h. In addition, you are encouraged to RSVP; link for RSVP is also at the same listing viz. Events calendar. This would ensure

i. your company’s name is included among attendees for the event (see the list at rsvps at Events calendar

ii. Your company receives the invitees for B2Bs, JBCs, trade delegations and other follow up events etc that would be organized, in due course time, particularly around focussed sectors.

iii. Embassy factors-in your companies interests as it undertakes focussed outreach seeking participation of your (e.g. for Indian ICT companies’) counterpart entities (e.g. local banks, companies with interest in ICT infusion, governments / departments for eGov etc) here.

5. You can benefit also from other relevant information that we carry on our website including:

a. Business climate (political economy, macro - economic picture, ease of doing business, labour laws)

b. Useful articles (from open sources)

i. e.g. last WTO reports on: Senegal | The Gambia |Guinea-Bissau | Cabo Verde

c. Special dispensation / NTBs (Non-tariff barriers), if any

d. Flagship programs of the governments

e. Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

f. Market surveys

g. Tenders

h. Various lists, e.g., of business consultants, corporate lawyers

i. Customs duties / tariffs

j. FAQs on Trade and Investment (e.g. such queries as How to set up a company in Senegal, Senegal Banking System, Opportunities for public private partnership mode of investment in Senegal, Applicable Tax for Foreign Contractor, Opportunities/ Incentives available in Senegal, incentives in SEZs, Investment opportunities in SEZs, Power Supply Situation / Opportunities in Renewable Energy, Senegal’s Foreign Trade Structure, etc)

k. General information on Trade on Embassy portal.

6. Language barrier can easily be bridged, particularly for text, using online translation tools like https://translate.google.com/, the portal allows translation of either text or webpage through URL (e.g. translation into French of this here).

Trade delegations/ B2B

7. Any plans for visits, participations in exhibitions / B2Bs / trade events, mounting of trade delegations must be an informed decision based on 1) information of the market 2) outreach to the counterpart stakeholders 3) response received from the stakeholders 4) clear line-up of meetings secured through direct interaction between counterpart entities. Thus, companies wanting to mount trade delegations must first

a. undertake detailed open source market research,

b. make company presentation during webinar convened by the Embassy (to solicit webinar, please use the proforma here)

c. plan in-person visit with adequate advance notice for securing meetings {It may be noted that the countries under the accreditation of Embassy of India in Dakar, viz., Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Cabo Verde, all prefer personal meetings to get to know each other before taking any business decisions. One has to thus invest in this effort undertaking multiple visits. Even tasks as simple as identifying an entity to act as representative of a company requires careful personal scrutiny. Thus, while online convervation can prepare the ground, movement is expected only after multiple in-person interactions}

d. make meeting requests directly with the counterpart / potential partner companies / entities (many you would get to know both as a result of your own outreach and also through company presentation webinar).

e. send the list of the meetings sought to the Embassy with full details for Embassy’s follow up / support

f. send the Embassy a de-briefing report after your visit

8. Those keen on any B2B must:

a. seek a webinar similar to the template at https://asp.embassyofindiadakar.gov.in/eoiaspHtml/b2bs.htm

b. nominate their effective communicator as their representative who would make a power point presentation during the webinar

c. send a self-contained teaser paper for inclusion in the webinar notice as background particularly for all the trade and industry here in Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Cabo Verde

d. circulate the webinar link, once floated, among their members

e. send their power point presentation as .ppt/.pptx at least one day before the webinar

f. benefiting from the feedback during the webinar, EPC / Chamber may wish to organize an informed B2B in-person or over virtual platform.

9. Any Chamber / Export Promotion Council keen on sectoral promotional roadshows must follow the guidelines at this link.

General advice

10. Packaging has to be consistent and of high quality particularly for pharmaceutical products.

11. Product labelling has to be in local language (for Senegal, in French).

12. Product consistency (e.g. container after container, e.g. of rice) is a must to ensure no laxity in ensuring quality.

13. Standard banking channels (e.g. LCs, insurance) must be used, even if that means a price mark up, to avoid loss due to non-payment / incorrect supplies etc.

14. Even a small opening, whether in trade or in investment, must be embraced to build experience and strengthen presence in a cautious, informed manner.

15. If a company has concrete plans and need further facilitation (over and above what is contained in the pages here), they are welcome to write to the Embassy (amb.dakar@mea.gov.in, com.dakar@mea.gov.in sending self-contained lucid soft text note on their company’s profile, their concrete project proposals and open queries along with detailed power point presentation). Embassy would not only forward these document to the relevant stakeholders but also convene a company specific webinar to suggest way forward.

16. After you follow all the information on this page and at various links and sub-links, if you still any information of interest to you, please write to com.dakar@mea.gov.in with cc to amb.dakar@mea.gov.in clearly mentioning there in that you did go through all the information on this page / its links / sub-links and find some information of interest to you missing which you seek.

a. Needless to add, it would not be possible for the Embassy to respond to routine queries seeking information that already is included on our website.

17. Your suggestions for improvement of our services are welcome and may be sent to amb.dakar@mea.gov.in or added to the tweet here.

***

Multi-lingual Email response format

English original

Traduction Google en français

Dear Sirs,

I understand that you are looking for waste management solutions, an area in which we hold expertise.

We have worked with such clients in the past as..

We would be keen to work also with you.

Our solutions generate revenues, in addition to reducing the carbon footprints.

Looking forward,

(Name)

(Designation)

(Company)

Mobile:

Whatsapp:

URL: www....

Chers Messieurs,

Je comprends que vous recherchez des solutions de gestion des déchets, un domaine dans lequel nous détenons une expertise.

Nous avons travaillé avec des clients dans le passé comme ..

Nous serions ravis de travailler également avec vous.

Nos solutions génèrent des revenus, en plus de réduire l'empreinte carbone.

Avoir hâte de,

(Nom)

(La désignation)

(Compagnie)

Mobile:

Whatsapp:

URL: www ....