• Burkina Faso doubles digital ministry 2026 budget to 61 billion CFA francs

• Funds target fiber rollout, white-zone coverage and public service digitisation

• Government aims to boost ICT leadership despite low e-government rankings

Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Digital Transition, Posts and Electronic Communications has set a 61 billion CFA franc ($109.4 million) operating budget for 2026, double its allocation for 2025, according to a ministry statement.

The budget was approved on Monday during the second regular session of the ministry’s administrative council. The approved work plan includes 156 activities, notably the deployment of 270 km of optical fiber, the extension of mobile network and high-speed internet coverage to 750 identified “white zones,” or areas without network access, the commissioning of mini data centers, support for the digitization of 100 administrative procedures, the construction of citizen service centers, and the strengthening of digital legislation.

The 2026 budget compares with approximately 30.4 billion CFA francs in 2025. Achievements last year included the rollout of the CIM and CIMEX platforms across several public institutions, the issuance of 338 IT accreditations, the expansion of the national optical fiber network to more than 11,292 km, and the connection of 88 additional buildings to the RESINA network. Other measures included the acquisition of five data centers, digital skills training for 169 young girls, the recruitment and training of 214 IT specialists, and the launch of “Zama tchéy” citizen service centers aimed at bringing postal services closer to local communities.

The budget increase comes as the government seeks to position Burkina Faso as a regional leader in integrating information and communication technologies into key sectors such as public administration, education, health, commerce, and agriculture. Authorities also see digital technologies as a lever to accelerate socio-economic development, with twelve priority projects identified to support this strategy through 2030.

Burkina Faso currently ranks 175th out of 193 countries on the United Nations E-Government Development Index, with a score of 0.2895 out of 1. This remains below the averages for West Africa (0.3957), Africa as a whole (0.4247), and the global average (0.6382).

In cybersecurity, the country is placed in the third tier out of five on the International Telecommunication Union’s Global Cybersecurity Index. While Burkina Faso performs relatively well in organizational, legislative, and cooperative measures, it still lags in technical capacity and skills development.

Telecom infrastructure also remains uneven. Mobile telephony coverage (2G) stands at 85%, compared with 64% for 3G internet and 46% for 4G, according to official 2024 data. Nationwide, 1,700 white zones have been identified, with 183 covered in 2022 and 138 in 2024. An additional 750 areas are scheduled for coverage in 2025. ITU data shows that internet penetration reached 17% in 2023, compared with a mobile penetration rate of 55.9%.

Isaac K. Kassouwi