Burkina Faso: African Development Bank Calls for Stronger Domestic Resource Mobilisation to Finance Development

To finance its development and accelerate economic transformation, Burkina Faso will need to step up the mobilisation of domestic resources, according to the African Development Bank, as the West African country continues to face significant annual development financing needs.

In its 2026 Country Focus Report on development prospects, the pan-African development institution highlights several avenues for increasing available resources, including tax revenues, natural resources, the private sector, the financial system and the diaspora.

The report, the country-level version of the African Economic Outlook 2026, was officially presented on 18 September 2026 in Ouagadougou during a hybrid event that brought together around 60 participants, notably from the public administration, technical and financial partners, academia and research, the private sector and the African Development Bank.

The Bank's call for stronger resource mobilisation comes as Burkina Faso's key macroeconomic indicators improve. Economic growth reached 5.3% in 2025, up from 4.8% in 2024, amid a proactive economic strategy and favourable external factors, including higher gold prices.

The fiscal deficit also narrowed, from 5.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 to 1.6% in 2025. Over the same period, the total public debt stock fell from 57.3% of GDP to 53.8%. This improvement provides Burkina Faso with a favourable basis for increasing resource mobilisation as it implements the RELANCE National Development Plan 2026-2030.

The Bank's Country Manager for Burkina Faso, Daniel Ndoye, highlighted progress already made in domestic resource mobilisation, notably through the Diaspora Bonds operation.

"I would particularly like to highlight the progress made in mobilising domestic resources, as well as the success of the Diaspora Bonds operation, which raised €230 million in May 2026. This operation illustrates Burkina Faso's ability to diversify its financing sources and make better use of domestic savings and the savings of its diaspora," Ndoye said.

The Bank and the Burkinabe government believe several financing sources could be further tapped. In addition to tax revenues and natural resources, these include the country's agricultural and energy potential, the financial system, institutional investment, the domestic and international private sector, and the diaspora. Discussions focused in particular on bank lending and institutional investment as sources of domestic financing.

But mobilising additional resources must go hand in hand with more effective use of available financing, stressed Souleymane Nabolé, Technical Adviser at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, who represented the Minister.

"We must ensure that these resources are used effectively, improve the efficiency of public investment and make sure that every resource mobilised genuinely contributes to value creation, employment and better living conditions for the population," he said.

The 2026 Country Focus Report was presented by the Bank's Country Economist, Samirinina Andriambelosoa.

In a video message, Kevin Urama, Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management at the African Development Bank Group, presented the broader context in which the 2026 country reports were prepared. He called on African governments to make greater use of the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD), a Bank initiative aimed at strengthening financing mechanisms for countries across the continent.

At the end of the session, Daniel Ndoye noted that the report's conclusions and recommendations were aligned with several directions already being pursued by Burkina Faso. He reaffirmed the Bank's readiness to strengthen its support to the country, particularly through NAFAD.

He added that the Bank's 2027-2031 Country Strategy Paper for Burkina Faso would place strong emphasis on industrialisation, in line with the country's national development priorities.

Souleymane Nabolé also welcomed the quality of the discussions on the report, saying they provided another opportunity to reaffirm the Burkinabe government's satisfaction with the quality of its cooperation with the African Development Bank Group.

Read the original article on African Development Bank (AfDB).