Vol. 1 No. 1 (2024)

View Issue TOC

Navigating the Post-Conflict Terrain: An Analysis of Business Challenges and Opportunities in Senegal (2010–2024)

Aminata Diop, Department of Research, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Senegal Marième Ndiaye, Institut Pasteur de Dakar
Published: January 22, 2026

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates the distinct challenges and opportunities for enterprise development within fragile post-conflict economies, focusing on Senegal’s Casamance region from 2010 to 2023. The protracted, low-intensity conflict in Casamance, while not nationwide, has created a unique and under-researched economic terrain of prolonged recovery. The research addresses a critical gap in the literature, which often overlooks sub-national contexts and gendered dimensions of post-conflict entrepreneurship. It asks: what are the primary constraints and adaptive strategies for businesses in Casamance, and how does gender shape these experiences? The methodology comprises semi-structured interviews with 30 business owners and managers, purposively sampled to include varied sectors and a deliberate focus on women-led enterprises, alongside analysis of regional development reports. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings reveal that infrastructural deficits, restricted access to formal credit, and persistent social fragmentation pose formidable barriers. Conversely, the study identifies significant opportunities arising from new market niches, the revitalisation of agribusiness, and the pivotal role of women’s business collectives in concurrently rebuilding livelihoods and social trust. The study concludes that effective policy and practice must be grounded in a nuanced, context-specific understanding of this landscape, actively leveraging local entrepreneurial resilience—particularly that of women—to foster inclusive economic recovery and sustainable peacebuilding.

Full Text:

PDF (English (United Kingdom)) HTML (English (United Kingdom))

Read the Full Article

The HTML galley is loaded below for inline reading and better discovery.

Open HTML Open PDF

How to Cite

Aminata Diop, Marième Ndiaye (2026). Navigating the Post-Conflict Terrain: An Analysis of Business Challenges and Opportunities in Senegal (2010–2024). African Journal of Women in Leadership and Governance, Vol. 1 No. 1 (2024), 25-34.
EndNote (RIS) BibTeX

Keywords

Post-conflict reconstructionBusiness environmentSub-Saharan AfricaInstitutional voidsSustainable developmentPeacebuildingCasamance

Research Snapshot

Desktop reading view
Language
EN
Formats
HTML + PDF
Publication Track
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2024)
Current Journal
African Journal of Women in Leadership and Governance

References

  • Achtenhagen, L., & Brundin, E. (2017). Introduction—Management Challenges in Africa. Frontiers in African Business Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4536-3_1
  • Baker, P., Hawkes, C., Wingrove, K., Demaio, S., Parkhurst, J., Thow, A.M., & Walls, H. (2018). What drives political commitment for nutrition? A review and framework synthesis to inform the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition. BMJ Global Health. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000485
  • Barnard, H., Cuervo-Cazurra, Á., & Manning, S. (2017). Africa Business Research as a Laboratory for Theory-Building: Extreme Conditions, New Phenomena, and Alternative Paradigms of Social Relationships. Management and Organization Review. https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2017.34
  • Bereketeab, R. (2021). Understanding Peacebuilding and State Building: Post-Conflict African Challenges. https://doi.org/10.31124/advance.13586033.v1
  • Celani, A., Dressler, L., & Wermelinger, M. (2022). Building an Investment Tax Incentives database. OECD working papers on international investment. https://doi.org/10.1787/62e075a9-en
  • Cohen, P.J., Allison, E.H., Andrew, N., Cinner, J.E., Evans, L., Fabinyi, M., Garcés, L.R., Hall, S.J., Hicks, C.C., Hughes, T.P., Jentoft, S., Mills, D.J., Masu, R., Mbaru, E., & Ratner, B.D. (2019). Securing a Just Space for Small-Scale Fisheries in the Blue Economy. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00171
  • Dicker, D., Nguyen, G., Abate, D., Abate, K.H., Abay, S.M., Abbafati, C., Abbasi, N., Abbastabar, H., Abd-Allah, F., Abdela, J., Abdelalim, A., Abdel‐Rahman, O., Abdi, A., Abdollahpour, I., Abdulkader, R.S., Abdurahman, A.A., Abebe, H.T., Abebe, M., Zegeye, A., & Abebo, T.A. (2018). Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(18)31891-9
  • Dupas, P., Karlan, D., Robinson, J., & Ubfal, D. (2018). Banking the Unbanked? Evidence from Three Countries. American Economic Journal Applied Economics. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20160597
  • Elfert, M. (2019). Lifelong learning in Sustainable Development Goal 4: What does it mean for UNESCO’s rights-based approach to adult learning and education?. International Review of Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-019-09788-z
  • Ganson, B., & Wennmann, A. (2018). The changing landscape of business and conflict in fragile states. Business and Conflict in Fragile States. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429031618-4
  • Georgeson, L., Maslin, M., & Poessinouw, M. (2017). The global green economy: a review of concepts, definitions, measurement methodologies and their interactions. Geo Geography and Environment. https://doi.org/10.1002/geo2.36
  • Griggs, G., & Reguero, B.G. (2021). Coastal Adaptation to Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise. Water. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162151
  • Haas, H.D., Czaika, M., Flahaux, M., Mahendra, E., Natter, K., Vezzoli, S., & Villares‐Varela, M. (2019). International Migration: Trends, Determinants, and Policy Effects. Population and Development Review. https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12291
  • Hansen, J., Vaughan, C., Kagabo, D.M., Dinku, T., Carr, E.R., Körner, J., & Zougmoré, R.B. (2019). Climate Services Can Support African Farmers' Context-Specific Adaptation Needs at Scale. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2019.00021
  • Jouanjean, M. (2019). Digital Opportunities for Trade in the Agriculture and Food Sectors. OECD food, agriculture and fisheries working papers. https://doi.org/10.1787/91c40e07-en
  • Lazarus, J.V., Romero, D., Kopka, C.J., Karim, S.S.A., Abu‐Raddad, L.J., Almeida, G., Baptista‐Leite, R., Barocas, J.A., Barreto, M.L., Bar-Yam, Y., Bassat, Q., Batista, C., Bazilian, M., Chiou, S., Rı́o, C.D., Dore, G.J., Gao, G.F., Gostin, L.O., Hellard, M., & Jiménez, J.L. (2022). A multinational Delphi consensus to end the COVID-19 public health threat. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05398-2
  • Lebbe, T.B., Rey‐Valette, H., Chaumillon, É., Camus, G., Almar, R., Cazenave, A., Claudet, J., Rocle, N., Meur-Férec, C., Viard, F., Mercier, D., Dupuy, C., Ménard, F., Rossel, B.A., Mullineaux, L.S., Sicre, M., Zivian, A., Gaill, F., & Euzen, A. (2021). Designing Coastal Adaptation Strategies to Tackle Sea Level Rise. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.740602
  • Lee, S.T. (2021). Vaccine diplomacy: nation branding and China’s COVID-19 soft power play. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-021-00224-4
  • Marshall, K., Gibson, J.P., Mwai, O., Mwacharo, J.M., Haile, A., Getachew, T., Mrode, R., & Kemp, S.J. (2019). Livestock Genomics for Developing Countries – African Examples in Practice. Frontiers in Genetics. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2019.00297
  • Matlin, S.A., Depoux, A., Schütte, S., Flahault, A., & Saso, L. (2018). Migrants’ and refugees’ health: towards an agenda of solutions. Public health reviews. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40985-018-0104-9
  • Mehrabi, N., Morstatter, F., Saxena, N.A., Lerman, K., & Galstyan, A. (2021). A Survey on Bias and Fairness in Machine Learning. ACM Computing Surveys. https://doi.org/10.1145/3457607
  • O’Brien, K., Selboe, E., & Hayward, B. (2018). Exploring youth activism on climate change: dutiful, disruptive, and dangerous dissent. Ecology and Society. https://doi.org/10.5751/es-10287-230342
  • Programme, U.N.E. (2024). 2023 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction: Beyond foundations - Mainstreaming sustainable solutions to cut emissions from the buildings sector. United Nations Environment Programme eBooks. https://doi.org/10.59117/20.500.11822/45095
  • Soullier, G., Demont, M., Arouna, A., Lançon, F., & Villar, P.M.D. (2020). The state of rice value chain upgrading in West Africa. Global Food Security. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100365
  • Survey, U.G. (2020). Mineral commodity summaries 2020. https://doi.org/10.3133/mcs2020
  • Vos, T., Abajobir, A.A., Abate, K.H., Abbafati, C., Abbas, K., Abd-Allah, F., Abdulkader, R.S., Abdulle, A., Abebo, T.A., Abera, S.F., Aboyans, V., Abu‐Raddad, L.J., Ackerman, I.N., Adamu, A.A., Adetokunboh, O., Afarideh, M., Afshin, A., Agarwal, S., Aggarwal, R., & Agrawal, A. (2017). Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 328 diseases and injuries for 195 countries, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. The Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(17)32154-2
  • Yoshikawa, H., Wuermli, A.J., Britto, P.R., Dreyer, B.P., Leckman, J.F., Lye, S.J., Ponguta, L.A., Richter, L., & Stein, A. (2020). Effects of the Global Coronavirus Disease-2019 Pandemic on Early Childhood Development: Short- and Long-Term Risks and Mitigating Program and Policy Actions. The Journal of Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.05.020
  • Zougmoré, R.B., Läderach, P., & Campbell, B. (2021). Transforming Food Systems in Africa under Climate Change Pressure: Role of Climate-Smart Agriculture. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084305