Bobo-Dioulasso Has a Regional Branch of the Burkinabe Social Development Fund

On Friday, September 8th, 2023, Dr Aboubakar Nacanabo, Minister of the Economy, Finance, and Forward Planning, officially opened the regional branch of the Burkinabe Social Development Fund (FBDES) in sector 17 of Bobo-Dioulasso.

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Burkina’s first fund, created in 1975, the Burkinabe Social Development Fund (FBDES) has until now only existed in Ouagadougou

It was set up to support entrepreneurship, especially among young people and women.

The opening of this regional branch will provide opportunities for young people and women in Bobo-Dioulasso to effectively support their initiatives. The FBDES regional office is located on the second floor of a gray-tiled building, 200 meters from the Place de la Femme, near the Rakièta transport company stopover.

As the Minister of the Economy pointed out, there are many Burkinabè compatriots who have very fine initiatives, but who need support. Even though the fund finances projects in all parts of the country, he felt it was important to bring it closer to the beneficiaries, who are located all over the country, in line with the vision of the President of Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who instructed that opportunities should be sent wherever Burkinabè are.

He deduced from this that “when you have a local structure, you better understand the problems, you better understand the issues, you better understand the impact on the population. We believe that the branch that was opened today will truly serve to boost entrepreneurship in our capital”.

The Minister invited the women present at the ceremony to take advantage of the fund to finance their activities, and the branch manager to reach out to these women, listen to them, see what they are proposing, and see how they can be supported.

Finally, he encouraged FBDES workers, under the leadership of the General Manager and the Chairman of the Board of Directors, to grant funds transparently and fairly, and above all to ensure that the funds are directed towards structuring projects, projects that can support Burkina’s economic and social development.

To benefit from the Burkinabe Social Development Fund, one needs to have a project, a well-developed project document, and a business plan that highlights the benefits in terms of financial flows and cash flow from these projects. The Board of Directors then examines the project to ensure that it is suitable for support.

The Burkinabe Social Development Fund can provide support by acquiring shares or making loans in the form of associated current accounts

It can also provide support through portage and a guarantee granted to the promoter.

As Wendpanga Bruno Compaoré, Managing Director of the Burkinabe Social Development Fund pointed out, since Bobo-Dioulasso is the economic capital, it goes without saying that this fund, which was set up in 1975, has a branch to support economic development initiatives, because “when we say economic capital, it simply means that there are wealth-creating projects that need to be supported. But our proximity to these promoters means that we are more effective and that the guidelines and instructions given by the authorities reach the promoters directly from where their projects are located”.

Nor should the fund be seen as an alternative to the banking system. For this reason, promoters who have the capacity to raise funds in the traditional banking system are advised to go to the banks and leave the opportunity of the fund to people who have ideas but no access to bank financing.

The Bobo FBDES regional office covers the Greater West, i.e. Hauts-Bassins, Boucle du Mouhoun, Cascades, and South-West.

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(Featured image by Alexsander-777 via Pixabay)

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First published in le faso.net. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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