• Burkina Faso converted unpaid public debt into equity and took full control of Biothic Industries.
• The company failed to repay 332 million CFA francs in due payments by end-2025.
• The government integrated Biothic Industries into the state-owned enterprise portfolio to relaunch operations.

In Burkina Faso, the Council of Ministers meeting on February 5, 2026 approved the full takeover of Biothic Industries by the state. The company, which operates in the city of Léo, specializes in the extraction of essential oils from local plants.

The decision followed years of repayment difficulties linked to public financing. Between 2020 and 2021, the company received CFA500 million, equivalent to about $900,000, from the Burkinabe Fund for Economic and Social Development (FBDES). The funding included CFA400 million in investment loans and CFA100 million under an equity-carrying mechanism, which allowed the state to temporarily hold shares in the company.

Despite several deadline restructurings granted by FBDES, the company made no repayments. By the end of 2025, overdue and payable arrears reached CFA332 million, or nearly $600,000.

Breach of Contractual Commitments

An analysis conducted by authorities concluded that the company failed to meet its contractual obligations to FBDES. This situation exposed the state, as the main creditor, to a risk of losing public funds already committed.

The equity-carrying mechanism required the company to buy back the shares temporarily held by the state. The absence of loan repayment and the failure to comply with this mechanism led the government to consider an alternative option, namely direct state control.

A Nationalization to Relaunch Operations

“The takeover of this company will give the state the possibility to permanently retain the shares and transform the equity-carrying operation into a permanent participation,” the Council of Ministers said in its report. The statement added that the decision “will also allow the conversion of FBDES claims into capital in order to strengthen the state’s position within the company and reorganize the governance of Biothic Industries SA with a view to its effective revival.”

The report also stated that “the adoption of this report allows the state to take full control of the shares of Biothic Industries SA and integrate it into the portfolio of public enterprises.”

Biothic Industries therefore entered the portfolio of state-owned companies. Authorities aim to relaunch the industrial unit and improve the valorization of local resources used in essential oil production.

This article was initially published in French by Chamberline Moko

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de BERRY QUENUM