After Salémata, the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, travelled to Bandafassi, where he laid the foundation stone of the Higher Institute of Vocational Education (ISEP) of Kédougou, as part of the national ESPOIR-Jeunes project.
With a total budget of CFA 126 billion, financed with the support of the World Bank and the French Development Agency (AFD), the ESPOIR-Jeunes project plans, by 2028, the construction and equipping of eight new ISEP across the country. These institutions will train 24,000 young high school graduates each year in fields directly aligned with the needs of the national economy, with strong territorial anchoring and close cooperation with the private sector.
In Bandafassi, the ISEP-Industry of Kédougou embodies this new generation of institutes. Designed as an ecosystem combining training and production, it integrates from the outset a fully operational industrial unit, enabling learners to be trained at the very heart of value chains, from design to production. The ISEP thus goes beyond its traditional role to become a value-creation hub, serving immediate employability and local development.
Built on a 20-hectare site, with an investment of CFA 9 billion, the ISEP of Kédougou will offer programmes aligned with regional potential, particularly in mining, solar energy, organic agriculture, livestock farming, aquaculture, ecotourism and hospitality. It will help structure a skills hub tailored to the economic realities of the region.
Through this initiative, the Head of State gives concrete expression to his vision of making vocational training a strategic choice a lever for employment, entrepreneurship and economic sovereignty. The ISEP network thus stands as a central pillar in the transformation of human capital, in line with the Senegal 2050 vision and the commitment to build development based on skills, local value addition and the sustainable integration of young people.
