The government of Burkina Faso, in partnership with technical and financial partners, has initiated a national communication campaign aimed at empowering women and girls in entrepreneurship. The campaign, dubbed "Pagb Yidgr-Sooré" or "Entreprendre au féminin," was officially launched on October 10, 2026, in Koudougou, the capital of the Nando region. This campaign seeks to create a favorable environment for women's economic autonomy and will run until October 29, 2026.
The campaign will target three regions in Burkina Faso: Nando, Koulsé, and Yaadga. It aims to mobilize over 3,000 women in ten communes across these regions. According to Michel Ouaba, representative of technical and financial partners and coordinator of the project, women play a vital role in Burkina Faso's economy, contributing significantly to agriculture, livestock, artisanal, and commercial activities. Despite their essential role, women remain underrepresented in formal entrepreneurship.
Statistics from the Centre de formalités des entreprises reveal that out of 22,829 enterprises created nationally in 2024, only 4,742 were established by women, representing approximately 20.8%. Michel Ouaba attributes this disparity to difficulties in accessing financing and land, certain social norms, and the impact of the security crisis. The campaign aims to address these challenges and promote a more favorable environment for women's entrepreneurship.
The campaign will not only target women and young girls but also engage traditional and religious leaders to garner their support for promoting women's entrepreneurship. This approach seeks to eliminate social barriers that hinder women's economic initiatives. Belèm Salam, head of the SWEDD+ project, emphasized that the campaign will focus on sensitization and advocacy efforts with traditional and religious leaders to foster an enabling environment for women entrepreneurs.
The SWEDD+ project, which Burkina Faso is a part of, is a regional initiative that includes seven countries: Benin, Togo, Senegal, Chad, Burkina Faso, Gambia, and Mauritania. The project is funded by the World Bank and aims to empower women and promote demographic dividend in Sub-Saharan Africa. The campaign in Burkina Faso is one of the components of this project, focusing on designing and implementing transformative interventions that promote social and economic autonomy for girls and women.
Lucien Guengueré, secretary general of the Nando region, highlighted that the choice of regions for the campaign is due to the persistent obstacles to women's entrepreneurship in these areas. The intervention aims to contribute to overcoming these barriers, enabling women to fully deploy their potential and participate in the development of a sovereign and prosperous Burkina Faso.
On the first day of the campaign, over 500 women and young girls benefited from training sessions on women's entrepreneurship and potential sources of financing. These sessions aim to enhance their knowledge and equip them with tools to develop their economic initiatives. The campaign's organizers hope that this initiative will contribute to creating a more enabling environment for women entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso.
Key points
- The campaign aims to mobilize over 3,000 women in ten communes across three regions in Burkina Faso.
- Women in Burkina Faso remain underrepresented in formal entrepreneurship, accounting for only 20.8% of enterprises created in 2024.
- The campaign seeks to address social and economic barriers hindering women's entrepreneurship, including difficulties in accessing financing and land.
