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Senegal is the official invited delegation of the 8th edition of MTL connect. Behind this status lies a mission built over a week by AKASSAA and FESTIC: twenty leaders, entrepreneurs, and institutional representatives united around a common goal—moving from representation to concrete cooperation.
A diverse delegation, not a showcase
The Learning Expedition – Senegal Delegation to Montreal brings together deliberately complementary profiles. Public institutions first, with the Agency for the Development and Supervision of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (ADEPME) and the Local Development Agency, which address the competitiveness of SMEs and territorial development. Next, actors in international cooperation, present on issues of digital governance, cybersecurity, and ecological transition. Finally, established technology operators, such as GAINDE 2000 and Orbus Infinity, which have been involved for years in facilitating trade and dematerializing procedures.
Alongside them, a dozen SMEs and startups active in software development, artificial intelligence applied to public data, agri-food, the circular economy, CSR, and events. Several of them are led by women, which is no coincidence: FESTIC, the Association of Senegalese Women in the Digital Sector, co-pilots the mission and has been doing groundbreaking work since 2016 on the place of women in digital decision-making bodies.
What Senegal comes to seek, what it comes to offer
The approach is explicitly two-way. On the side of what the delegation comes to seek: proven models for supporting SMEs, mechanisms for valorizing research, data governance practices, and partners capable of carrying out joint projects over the long term. Quebec is a global reference on several of these issues, and the Montreal ecosystem offers a rare density between research, businesses, and institutions.
On the side of what it comes to offer: solutions already deployed on a national scale, real expertise in trade facilitation and single-window systems, trained and available talent, and a West African market that few Quebec companies currently approach with strong local relays. Senegal does not present itself to Montreal as a requester, but as a partner.
A mission prepared in advance and followed up afterward
The uniqueness of this delegation lies in its method. Each participant formulated their objectives, targets, and meeting expectations in advance so that the business meetings organized during the event would be qualified rather than random. The mission is structured around a Focus Territoire dedicated to the Senegalese ecosystem, Connexions Lab meetings, the Vitrine for suitable projects, and the AKA Talks Montreal, a conference cycle carried by AKASSAA and organized on the sidelines of the event.
Upon return, a mission report, sectoral roadmaps, and restitution sessions will extend the work undertaken. The ambition stated by the organizers is simple: to measure the success of this participation not by the number of meetings held, but by the collaborations that will emerge within six months.