Financing a company or a shop in Burkina Faso
In Burkina Faso, an entrepreneur finances a project through a bank or a microfinance institution, sometimes with a SOFIGIB guarantee or support from FBDES Tõogo, provided the business is formalised with an RCCM and an IFU and can show credible accounts.
An economy dominated by the informal sector
Most Burkinabè businesses, from cereal trading to carpentry, remain informal. Banks reserve their loans for formalised companies, while the rest turn to caisses populaires or to family self-financing to fund their activity.
Registering your business at CEFORE
The business formalities centres attached to the Maison de l'Entreprise du Burkina Faso issue the RCCM, the IFU and social security registration at a single counter. Formalisation is an almost systematic prerequisite for obtaining a bank loan.
Tax returns and financial statements
Bankers ask for tax returns and financial statements in SYSCOHADA format. A business under the simplified regime must at least keep clear accounts; otherwise its real turnover cannot be demonstrated to the lender.
OHADA collateral accepted by banks
The OHADA Uniform Act on securities allows a pledge over the business, equipment or stock in addition to a mortgage. These securities are entered in the trade register, which makes them enforceable against the company's other creditors.
SOFIGIB and portfolio guarantees
The Société financière de garantie interbancaire du Burkina covers part of the risk that banks take on small businesses. This partial guarantee does not replace the owner's own contribution, but it can persuade a hesitant lender to go ahead.
FBDES Tõogo and the former promotion funds
FAPE, FASI and FAIJ were absorbed in 2024 by the Fonds Faso Kuna Wili, itself merged in 2025, together with AFP-PME, into FBDES Tõogo. Young entrepreneurs should therefore seek information from this new one-stop shop.
Banks active in SME lending
Coris Bank International, Ecobank, Bank of Africa and BADF, for agribusiness, finance working capital, equipment and public contracts. Prefinancing state orders often requires the contract payments to be domiciled at the bank and a bank guarantee to be issued.
Microfinance for starting small
A first microloan for an income-generating activity helps build a track record and prove sales. Several caisses in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso then offer larger SME loans to members who repay regularly and on time.
Financing equipment through leasing
For a lorry, a generator or a processing machine, Burkinabè leasing avoids tying up large collateral, because the asset remains the lessor's property until the purchase option is exercised at the end of the contract.
Promising sectors and their risks
Processing of shea, sesame and cashew, livestock, construction and mining-related services all attract financing. Banks remain cautious about areas affected by insecurity, where building sites and sales outlets can be cut off abruptly.
Popular shareholding and community entrepreneurship
The Agence pour la promotion de l'entrepreneuriat communautaire has launched public share offerings to create industrial units. This mechanism channels citizens' savings into equity, but it is not a loan for individual entrepreneurs.
Looking at practice in Benin
Benin offers other guarantee and SME financing tools within the same UMOA framework. The page on financing for entrepreneurs in Benin lets you compare the schemes available in the two neighbouring countries.
Building a business financing file in Burkina Faso
- Register the activity at CEFORE to obtain the RCCM and IFU, then open a business account.
- Write a business plan costed in CFA francs, with sales forecasts, expenses and working capital needs.
- Gather SYSCOHADA financial statements or, for a young business, sales records for recent months.
- Identify the collateral available: own contribution, equipment, stock, the business itself or titled land.
- Present the file to several banks and ask whether a SOFIGIB guarantee can be used.
- Negotiate a repayment schedule that matches the cash-flow cycles of the business.
Costs of an SME loan in Burkina Faso
| Item | Factors | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Bank rate | Project risk and collateral | Up to 14% a year, indicative |
| Guarantee fee | Share of the loan covered | Set by the guarantor |
| Security registration fees | Type of security and amount | Court registry scale |
| Arrangement and appraisal fees | Size of the loan | Varies by bank |
| Equipment insurance | Insured value | Premium set by the insurer |
Documents for a Burkinabè SME loan application
- Company RCCM and IFU
- Articles of association and minutes authorising the loan
- Business plan and financial forecasts
- SYSCOHADA financial statements for recent years
- Company bank statements
- Pro forma invoices for the equipment to be financed
- CNIB of the manager and partners
Frequent reasons entrepreneurs are turned down
- Presenting a business plan without any verifiable figures, when the banker expects statements or invoices proving sales.
- Mixing personal and business accounts, which makes it impossible to analyse the real profitability of the activity.
- Paying an intermediary who promises financing guaranteed by a national fund, when public funds never require a private commission.
- Asking only for an investment loan and forgetting the working capital needed to buy raw materials.
Lenders to contact
- Coris Bank International Burkina Faso: Burkinabe subsidiary of the Coris banking group, a commercial bank offering accounts, banking services and financing to individuals and businesses.
- UBA Burkina Faso: Burkina Faso subsidiary of the pan-African United Bank for Africa group, a commercial bank providing accounts, banking services and financing to individuals and companies.
SME financing in Burkina Faso: useful answers
Do the former FAPE, FASI and FAIJ funds still exist?
They were dissolved in 2024 in favour of the Fonds Faso Kuna Wili, which was itself merged into FBDES Tõogo in 2025. Pending files and new applications therefore fall under this body, whose official announcements should be checked regularly.
Can a sole trader get a bank loan in Burkina Faso?
Yes, if the business has an RCCM, an IFU and a traceable sales history. Amounts depend on the collateral and how long the business has been running, and the bank often asks for the entrepreneur's personal guarantee.
Can you apply for a SOFIGIB guarantee directly?
Generally, it is the bank that requests the guarantee for a file it wants to finance. The entrepreneur can still ask the banker whether the project is eligible and what additional cost the guarantee will add to the loan.
Can public contracts be prefinanced?
Several banks finance the execution of a public contract, with state payments domiciled to the company's account. The time the Treasury takes to pay must then be built into the business's cash-flow plan from the outset.