The government of Burkina Faso has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Presight International Services, a subsidiary of the UAE-based G42 Group, to bolster the country’s digital economy.
The MoU was officially signed by Burkina Faso’s Minister of Digital Transition, Posts, and Electronic Communications, Aminata Zerbo-Sabane, and Muhammad Shameen Hosenbocus, the Vice President of Presight.
This agreement sets the stage for a strong collaboration aimed at advancing Burkina Faso’s digital economy. It creates a framework for cooperation on several critical fronts, including the development of artificial intelligence (AI) skills and the enhancement of digital infrastructure to improve connectivity.
The MoU also emphasizes the importance of strengthening e-government services and implementing stronger cybersecurity measures across the country.
The partners aim to provide Burkina Faso with modern and resilient digital solutions that will support both public and private sector services. Additionally, the initiative is designed to help pave the way for the implementation of key development projects in the country.
Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Digital Transition, Posts, and Electronic Communications shared the news on Facebook, highlighting that this agreement is a step toward realizing major digital transformation projects. The goal is to make digital technology a powerful tool for inclusive development in Burkina Faso.
The agreement is also aligned with the country’s efforts to expedite the objectives outlined in its 2025 roadmap. Among these key priorities is the completion of data centers, which are currently 70% finished, and expanding internet coverage to an additional 500 underserved areas, referred to as “white zones.”
Moreover, the Burkinabé government plans to accelerate the digitization of administrative services and initiate a nationwide enrollment campaign for a new unique electronic identification system.
Burkina Faso’s digital transformation is ongoing, and the MoU comes at a time when the country is actively pushing to enhance its digital economy. In a related development, Burkina Faso’s communications regulator, ARCEP, and Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA) held talks last month to address issues related to cross-border signal interference.
In the same discussions, the two countries also advanced conversations on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) free roaming initiative, which aims to reduce cross-border mobile roaming costs within the region.
ECOWAS, a regional political and economic union of 15 West African countries, aims to foster “collective self-sufficiency” by creating a single large trade bloc and establishing a full economic and trading union.
In July 2024, Orange’s Burkinabé subsidiary selected Vox Solutions as the international application-to-person (A2P) short message service (SMS) and voice gateway for routing traffic into its network.
Furthermore, in November 2023, Burkina Faso’s military government began working on legislation related to cybersecurity.
