Burkina Faso has decided to establish a wine company with majority public ownership, with an initial capital of 1 billion CFA francs and requiring an estimated investment of 9.8 billion.
The company will produce wine locally and reduce its dependence on imports, according to the government.
The Burkinabe Council of Ministers, meeting Thursday under the chairmanship of the head of state, Captain Ibrahim Traore, adopted a decree establishing the Societe viticole du Burkina (SOVIB).
This public-private partnership will be based in Bobo-Dioulasso, in the western part of the country.
According to the official minutes, 45% of its initial capital will be held by the government, 10% by
BRAFASO, and 45% by the Burkinabe private sector.
“SOVIB will create hundreds of jobs and facilitate the processing of grapes grown in Burkina Faso,” said Serge Poda, Minister of Industry, Trade, and Crafts, as quoted by the presidency.
The government aims to harness the country’s agricultural potential and diversify industrial production through the processing of local raw materials.
Burkina Faso currently imports nearly all of the wine and spirits consumed in its market.
According to data reported by the media outlet Sirainfo, wine imports totalled 13.08 billion CFA francs between 2020 and 2024.
A four-hectare pilot site in Bega, in the Bagre region, is also experimenting with grape cultivation, with more than 17,000 vines representing 12 varieties.
The creation of SOVIB is part of the Burkinabe authorities’ strategy to strengthen economic sovereignty and promote national industrialisation.
HO/te/Sf/fss/as/APA