Accelerating Urban Energy Transition in Touba: Investing in a Sustainable Future

Touba, which hosts millions of pilgrims during the Grand Magal, has already invested heavily in its lighting and electricity grid. Since 2019, the Touba Ça Kanam association has installed nearly 25,000 streetlights, thanks to voluntary contributions from disciples, launching an additional batch of 5,000 streetlights valued at 130 million FCFA in July 2025, and also contributing to network rehabilitation. The municipal support program (PACASEN) has modernized public lighting over more than 15 km and extended the network in villages like Touba Ndiligui and Kéré Ndao, for over six billion FCFA. For Magal 2026, Senelec invested 6 billion FCFA (14,000 poles, 32 electrical substations), and the mayor announced that several thousand lamps have been installed or replaced in neighborhoods. The challenge now is sustainability and cost: the mayor has requested support to equip public buildings and health facilities with solar energy to reduce the municipality's electricity bill. This mission mobilizes the diaspora, including dahiras abroad, to accelerate Touba's energy transition: solar with storage for health facilities, schools, and public buildings, conversion of lighting to quality LED and solar with remote management, maintenance and training of a team of local technicians, energy security during Magal and floods, and mobilization of climate financing to replicate the model in neighborhoods.