Burkina Faso has unveiled the TEXFORCES-BF textile complex in Bobo-Dioulasso, a nearly 17 billion CFA franc ($30 million) investment, aimed at processing more of the country’s cotton at home and expanding local manufacturing.
The project is designed to change how Burkina Faso benefits from its cotton industry. Rather than exporting raw cotton and importing finished clothing and textiles at higher prices, the government says the facility will help keep more of the value chain inside the country.
The complex will produce uniforms and other equipment for the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) and Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), reducing the need to purchase such items from abroad. Officials also see the facility as a foundation for a bigger textile production and industrial development.
With this undertaking, the project is expected to have its most visible impact through employment and local business activity, for Burkinabès. The government estimates that the complex will create about 600 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect opportunities, potentially benefiting workers, cotton farmers, transporters, suppliers, traders and small businesses, connected to the textile sector.
The investment was financed through domestic national savings and state institutions, as against external borrowing from institutions such as the IMF or World Bank. Supporters of the approach say this gives Burkina Faso greater control over the project and its economic returns.
Apart from the factory itself, the government presents TEXFORCES-BF as part of a wider effort to promote economic self-reliance, local production and industrialisation. In respect to the cotton-growing communities and workers in Bobo-Dioulasso, the objective is to ensure that more of the income generated by Burkina Faso’s raw materials, resides within the national economy.
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