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Dakar 2026: who pays for Africa's first Olympic event

The Youth Olympic Games are under way in Dakar. Next to the global Olympic partners, most local sponsors are Senegalese companies, several of them state-owned.

The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games opened on 31 October 2026 and run until 13 November. It is the first Olympic event ever held in Africa: more than 2,600 athletes aged 14 to 17, over 200 delegations, 25 sports and 153 medal events, in Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.

Who sponsors the Games

Two worldwide Olympic partners are visible on the ground: Alibaba Cloud and Visa, which is using the Games to open an office in Dakar. Most of the other partners we have mapped are Senegalese companies: telecom operator Sonatel (Orange), the national airline Air Senegal, the Port of Dakar, cement maker SOCOCIM, FBNBank Senegal and flour miller Grands Moulins de Dakar. Air Senegal and the Port of Dakar are state-owned. The Chinese outdoor brand Pelliot is a kit supplier.

A strength, and a gap

Strong local backing shows that Senegalese companies believe in the event. It also shows that, beyond the global Olympic sponsors, international brands are still rare among the partners of sport in Senegal.

The next window: 2031

On 13 October 2026, Senegal was chosen to host the 2031 Francophonie Games. The International Organisation of La Francophonie said Senegal can build on its Dakar 2026 experience, and the bid plans to use venues such as Dakar Arena and the Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor. For brands, the time to prepare is before the organising committee starts selling partnerships.

What we will watch

The real audience and attendance figures after the Games. More than 960,000 tickets were made available, including 300,000 solidarity tickets: how many were used will show what an event in Senegal can deliver to sponsors.

Also: OIF, 13 October 2026; Business of Sports Africa, 28 October 2026.

Source: International Olympic Committee, November 2026. Figures as reported by the source.