This Wednesday, September 3, 2025, the Director General of Customs, Babacar MBAYE, paid a company visit to the Senegalese Beverage Industry (IBS), bottler of the Coca-Cola brand.

This visit is the first in a series of "active listening visits" to industry captains by the DGD.

The objective of these visits is to inquire about the situation of the said companies and to provide them with the full package of services necessary for the development of their activities.

Upon his arrival at IBS, Babacar MBAYE was welcomed by the company's top management, headed by its founder and Chairman of the Board, Kassim El SAHILI. In his welcoming address, Mr. SAHILI expressed his gratitude to the Director General of Customs and his delegation for the honor he had bestowed upon them by dedicating his first company outing to their industrial unit.

Regarding the partnership with Customs, IBS benefits from the status of Authorized Economic Operator (OAE), advantages linked to customs regimes and plans to open its industrial warehouse in September 2025.

These benefits are granted within the framework of facilitating and supporting national companies, particularly those which are recognized as models in compliance with customs procedures, transparency and civic engagement.

IBS is a major raw materials importing company with a volume of 17,000 TEU (around 7 containers per day) for 6.5 billion in customs revenue for the year 2024.

During the discussions that followed the presentation on the IBS and its expectations, the Director General of Customs first praised the partnership that exists between the Senegalese Beverage Industry and Senegalese Customs and emphasized the importance of strengthening collaboration between the two organizations. For Babacar MBAYE, the IBS-Customs partnership should be held up as an example in that it has made it possible to effectively support the company in its horizontal development project and avoid contentious situations. "Disputes must be accidental and not organized," added the DGD. This is why the General Directorate of Customs has opted to work more on tailored offers to support operators who are operating legally. This requires, first of all, listening and ongoing contact in order to identify difficulties and provide appropriate solutions. This is the whole point of this trip during which the Director General visited the IBS facilities and saw firsthand the level of investments made and their impact on the national economy and job creation.

Practical solutions were provided immediately to several of the requests expressed by the Senegalese Beverage Industry. For the rest, rigorous monitoring and a permanent dialogue bridge will be established with the DGD through the Customs Operations Directorate (DOD) and the Directorate of Facilitation and Partnership with Business (DFPE). An exchange of gifts and a family photo concluded the visit.