Ouagadougou and the inland economy
The capital is a starting point for understanding a landlocked market and its regional connections. Read the briefing for the sector context and practical commercial questions.
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West AfricaAvailable case by case
West AfricaAvailable case by caseBurkina Faso
Burkina Faso
A landlocked, francophone economy with an export profile concentrated almost entirely in gold.
A sense of place
Discover Burkina Faso.
The rock formations of Sindou, Burkina Faso.
The rock formations of Sindou
Sindou’s striking rock formations reveal another dimension of Burkina Faso’s landscape. These photographs introduce the country’s geography and do not represent an offered itinerary.
Market at a Glance
A landlocked, francophone economy with an export profile concentrated almost entirely in gold.
Burkina Faso is a landlocked economy of roughly USD 27.6 billion with a population of about 24 million in 2025. Ouagadougou is the administrative and commercial capital, with Bobo-Dioulasso the second commercial centre and the historic industrial and agricultural hub in the west.
The export structure is unusually concentrated. The national statistics institute, INSD, reports non-monetary gold at 82.3 per cent of export earnings in its 2024 external trade analysis. That degree of concentration is the central commercial fact about this economy: foreign exchange availability, government revenue and the wider business climate all move with a single commodity.
The regional position requires precision. Burkina Faso withdrew from ECOWAS with effect from 29 January 2025, alongside Mali and Niger, and is therefore not currently an ECOWAS member. ECOWAS has directed that transitional arrangements continue pending further agreement. Separately, and this was checked independently, Burkina Faso remains a member of the West African Monetary Union and continues to use the CFA franc issued by the BCEAO.
Cotton remains commercially important alongside gold, particularly in the west, and livestock supports a large rural economy. Both are exposed to the same corridor logistics as everything else.
Being landlocked means all physical trade moves by road to a neighbouring port. Corridor conditions and border procedure sit at the centre of any operating plan, and security conditions vary by area rather than applying uniformly across the country.
Key Sectors
Where the Activity Actually Is.
Gold and mining[1]
- Why it matters
- Non-monetary gold was 82.3 per cent of export earnings in 2024 on official figures.
- What exists
- Industrial gold production alongside a substantial artisanal sector.
- Where opportunity may be
- Supply, services and equipment into producing operations, and domestic processing where policy supports it.
- Limitations
- Mining regulation and commodity policy have been under active revision. Confirm current terms directly.
Cotton[1]
- Why it matters
- A long-established cash crop and the principal non-gold export.
- What exists
- Production concentrated in the west, with ginning capacity around Bobo-Dioulasso.
- Where opportunity may be
- Ginning, textile processing and value addition.
- Limitations
- Rainfall dependence, input costs and corridor freight cost to port.
Livestock[1]
- Why it matters
- A major rural economy and a significant regional trade.
- What exists
- Pastoral production traded across the region.
- Where opportunity may be
- Processing, cold chain and veterinary supply.
- Limitations
- Exposed to cross-border movement conditions.
Solar and energy[5]
- Why it matters
- High irradiation and generation capacity below demand.
- What exists
- Limited grid capacity with growing solar interest.
- Where opportunity may be
- Generation, distributed supply and captive industrial power.
- Limitations
- Offtake certainty, tariff and payment terms need direct confirmation.
Trade
What Moves, and Where.
Exports2024
Non-monetary gold accounted for 82.3 per cent of export earnings, on the national statistics institute’s annual external trade analysis.[1]
Regional position
- UEMOA and the West African Monetary Union (current member)
- Alliance of Sahel States (AES)
- African Union
- Withdrew from ECOWAS with effect from 29 January 2025
Routes to market
Landlocked. Every import and export moves by road to a port in a neighbouring country.
- Ouagadougou to Tema and Takoradi (Ghana)
- Ouagadougou to Lomé (Togo)
- Ouagadougou to Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)
- Ouagadougou to Cotonou (Benin)
Doing Business
The Practical Environment.
- French is the language of contracts, regulation and institutional dealing.
- API-BF is the investment promotion body and the point of contact for business establishment.
- Burkina Faso is not currently an ECOWAS member. Withdrawal took effect on 29 January 2025.
- Burkina Faso remains in the West African Monetary Union and uses the CFA franc issued by the BCEAO. Verified against both BCEAO and UEMOA.
- Burkina Faso is a member of the Alliance of Sahel States, formed with Mali and Niger.
- Mining and commodity policy, including local processing and value-addition requirements, has been under active revision. Confirm the current position rather than relying on published summaries.
Institutions
Agence Burkinabè des Investissements (API-BF)[1]
Investment promotion and facilitation, and support for business establishment.
These are the relevant public institutions. Listing them describes the market. It does not indicate any relationship between them and Capital Africa.
Currency
West African CFA franc
XOF
Banque Centrale des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO)
Burkina Faso remains a member of the West African Monetary Union and continues to use the West African CFA franc issued by the BCEAO. The ECOWAS withdrawal did not change this. Verified independently against BCEAO and UEMOA, both of which list eight member states including Burkina Faso.[3]
No exchange rate is published here. Rates move, and a rate hardcoded into a web page is wrong within days.
Infrastructure and Logistics
How Goods Move.
Ports
Corridors
- Ouagadougou to Tema and Takoradi (Ghana)
- Ouagadougou to Lomé (Togo)
- Ouagadougou to Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)
- Ouagadougou to Cotonou (Benin)
Commercial centres
Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso
Areas Worth Understanding
Where Commercial Interest Tends to Sit.
These are areas, not projects. Nothing here is a listing, a transaction or something available to participate in.
Cotton processing and textiles
Driver
Established cotton production with ginning capacity concentrated in the west and limited downstream processing.
Still needs investigation
Feedstock volumes and pricing, power at site, corridor cost, and current export policy.
Who it suits
Textile and processing operators, and investors funding capacity.
Corridor logistics
Driver
Complete dependence on road corridors to ports in Ghana, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire and Benin.
Still needs investigation
Current corridor volumes and reliability, border procedure, and the effect of ECOWAS transitional arrangements.
Who it suits
Freight and logistics operators.
Solar generation
Driver
High irradiation and generation capacity below demand, with industrial users exposed to supply constraints.
Still needs investigation
Offtake and tariff structure, payment security, and the regulatory route for independent generation.
Who it suits
Energy developers and investors.
Risks and Realities
What to Plan Around.
Commercial constraints, stated as implications rather than as commentary. A market can carry real opportunity and real constraint at the same time.
Extreme export concentration
With gold at 82.3 per cent of export earnings in 2024, the entire external position depends on one commodity. Foreign exchange availability and the wider business climate move with its price.
Security conditions vary by area
Conditions differ significantly across the country. Plans must be location-specific and rest on current professional security advice, not a national generalisation.
Landlocked corridor dependency
All physical trade moves by road through a neighbour. Corridor disruption is an operational risk, and single-corridor planning is fragile.
ECOWAS withdrawal
Outside ECOWAS since January 2025, with transitional arrangements in place and the durable position unsettled. Confirm customs treatment for your goods on your route.
Commodity and processing policy
Requirements around local processing and value addition have been under revision. Terms assumed at the planning stage may not be the terms that apply.
Compliance considerations
- Mining title, licensing and export authorisation under the current mining code.
- Any local processing or value-addition requirement applying to minerals.
- Customs and transit procedure on the corridor used, including current ECOWAS transitional treatment.
- Responsible sourcing expectations for gold, including artisanal production.
- Counterparty, beneficial ownership and sanctions screening.
These identify questions to ask. They are not legal conclusions, and current requirements should be confirmed with qualified local counsel.
Before Entering This Market
A Working Checklist.
- 01Define the commercial objective and the specific locations activity will take place in
- 02Obtain current professional security advice for those specific locations
- 03Engage francophone legal counsel before committing to documentation
- 04Confirm current mining, commodity and local processing policy if minerals are involved
- 05Confirm the customs treatment of your goods on your intended corridor
- 06Plan more than one corridor route where the supply chain allows it
- 07Identify and verify potential partners independently
- 08Confirm foreign exchange and transfer procedure within the CFA zone
- 09Obtain Burkinabè legal and tax advice on current requirements
Next Step
Considering Burkina Faso?
This briefing is what the public record establishes. What it cannot tell you is how Burkina Faso works for your sector, your structure and your timeline, which is the assessment.
Book ConsultationSources and Further Reading
Where This Comes From.
Numbered references in the text point here. Each source is labelled by what it actually is. A central bank, a licensing regulator and a national statistics office are all authoritative and are not the same thing.
Show all 5 sources
Trade
- [1]Situation annuelle du commerce extérieur du Burkina Faso 2024Institut national de la statistique et de la démographie (INSD) · National statistics · accessed 2026-08-20
Government
- [2]Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger’s Withdrawal from ECOWAS is now a realityECOWAS · Multilateral · accessed 2026-08-20
- [4]Presentation of UEMOAUEMOA · Multilateral · accessed 2026-08-20
Central bank
- [3]Presentation of WAMU, West African Monetary UnionBCEAO · Central bank · accessed 2026-08-20
Economic data
- [5]Burkina Faso country dataWorld Bank · Multilateral · accessed 2026-08-20
What we could not settle
- The 82.3 per cent gold share is the INSD figure for 2024. A secondary aggregator reports 82.4 per cent for gems and precious metals over the same year, a difference explained by category definition rather than by disagreement. The official figure is used.
- Total export value is not published. Secondary sources report a 2024 figure, but it was not confirmed against the INSD release in this pass.
- API-BF pages carry older promotional investment statistics. None is published here. The agency is cited only for its institutional role.
- Corridor ranking was not established from current freight data. Corridors are listed without implying which dominates.
- Mining code and value-addition requirements were not established from legislative text and no terms are published.
Capital Africa market briefing: Burkina Faso. Last reviewed August 2026, next review November 2026. Every figure above carries its reference year and its source.