Sino-Senegalese Cooperation: An Impulse to Innovative Growth Strategies for Senegalese SMEs

Since 2005, Senegal and China have developed painstaking efforts to flourish in win-win cooperation. However, the outcome of this collaboration is still under scrutiny due to several constraints in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. This study examined how the Sino-Senegalese cooperation could be a mean for Senegalese SMEs to grow their businesses through competitive strategies. The purpose of the study was to explore practical uses of growth strategies that may enable the Senegalese SMEs to develop sustainably. We adopted an inductive research approach by using descriptive and interpretive statistical analysis methods. We explored the data using SPSS 16.0. We can summarize the findings as follows: (1) Senegalese SMEs in China face problems related to unstable government regulations; high money transaction costs and high tax rates rather than access to finance; (2) there is a high degree of informality among SMEs in Guangzhou and Yiwu despite the relatively high level of education of the SME managers; (3) they can incorporate many growth strategies in the management of their businesses concerning the idiosyncratic pitfalls we have identified in the research. The Ansoff matrix, innovative strategic moves, and strategic networking have shown to be important tools for the Senegalese SMEs operating in China to grow steadily and sustainably. A way to grasp the originality of this thesis is that many of the major works published in this field mainly focus on China’s strategy for Africa. We find less evidence in the literature for China’s presence in a resource-independent economy like Senegal. And by doing so, they barely mention the negative impacts of this cooperation, nor do they alleviate the opportunities and strategies that can be put forward for SMEs growth.