The second edition of Le Faso Digital, organized by Lefaso.net, officially closed on October 24, 2026, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The event, which ran from October 17 to 24, 2026, saw 201 applications validated for the national digital innovation competition. The organizers expressed satisfaction with the mobilization of digital actors and announced a break in 2027 to prepare for an international colloquium on 30 years of online press in West Africa, scheduled for 2028.
The event, themed "Inclusion, sovereignty, and innovation: towards a digital Burkina Faso for all," brought together innovators, entrepreneurs, companies, institutions, experts, and citizens to discuss digital inclusion, sovereignty, and innovation. The program included conferences, panels, masterclasses, professional meetings, and presentations of solutions. According to Dr. Cyriaque Paré, president of the organizing committee, the second edition confirmed the potential for innovation in Burkina Faso and the growing interest of actors in locally developed digital solutions.
This year's edition saw a significant increase in applications, with 208 solutions registered, of which 201 were validated. This represents more than six times the number of applications from the first edition in 2025, which had 34 candidate solutions. The innovations cover essential sectors such as commerce, education, health, agriculture, finance, governance, environment, and digital infrastructure. Dr. Paré emphasized that these innovations demonstrate that Burkina Faso has talents capable of imagining and developing solutions adapted to its needs.
The event also featured diverse themes, including artificial intelligence, digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, regulation, digital financial services, national languages, and the digital transformation of enterprises. These discussions drew several thousand participants on the Lefasodigital.net and Lefaso.net platforms. Dr. Paré highlighted that the development of digital technology in Burkina Faso requires better adoption of local solutions and an environment conducive to the maturation of projects, financing, and connections with potential users.
Dr. Paré outlined three key lessons from the event: Burkina Faso has considerable innovation potential, but it remains insufficiently visible; digital inclusion must be at the heart of concerns, ensuring accessibility for women, young people, rural populations, and people with disabilities; and innovation needs outlets, requiring users, clients, partners, and financing opportunities. He emphasized that the success of an innovation depends not only on its technical conception but also on its ability to meet its audience and find economic outlets.
The organizers announced a break in 2027 to prepare for an international colloquium in 2028, marking the 25th anniversary of Lefaso.net and 30 years of online press in West Africa. The colloquium will discuss the origins of online press in West Africa, its contribution to information and public debate, and challenges related to economic models, information credibility, and the impact of digital platforms and artificial intelligence.
Representing the Minister in charge of digital transition, Sié Maxime Da, director general of digital transition, praised the initiative of Lefaso.net and the mobilization of public and private actors around digital transformation. He recalled that the theme of this edition highlights three requirements: inclusion, sovereignty, and innovation, which must contribute to economic development, modernization of public services, and improvement of living conditions for populations.
Key points
- The second edition of Le Faso Digital validated 201 digital innovation applications.
- The event theme was "Inclusion, sovereignty, and innovation: towards a digital Burkina Faso for all."
- An international colloquium on 30 years of online press in West Africa is scheduled for 2028.
