2020 Entrepreneurial Activity Review

Burkina Faso has experienced a significant economic impact as a result of the pandemic. Overall, 73% of adults (18–64) reported that they had suffered loss of household income as a result of the pandemic, a very high rate, but still low relative to peer GEM economies Angola (84%) and Togo (89%). Yet, similar to Angola, whose population suffered serious income decline, Burkina Faso’s potential entrepreneurs do not seem overly reactive to the pandemic, despite a high level of adults intending to become entrepreneurs. The rate of those intending to start a business over the next three years in Burkina Faso is 52%, high compared to most GEM standards but not much more than Togo (48%) and much below Angola (83%). Of these prospective entrepreneurs, only 34% indicated that the pandemic had influenced their expectations, despite the income loss, and perhaps contrary to expectations, given the number of people looking to become entrepreneurs in the near future. There is no 2019 benchmark of potential entrepreneurship as Burkina Faso did not participate in that year’s GEM cycle.

Burkina Faso’s Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) rate — 23% — is one of the highest among all GEM economies, but well below peer economies Togo (32.9%) and Angola (49.6%). This high TEA rate indicates that many entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso tend to carry their aspirations into the early planning and founding stage (as measured by TEA) and beyond. Relatedly, Burkina Faso’s Established Business Ownership (EBO) rate was 12% in 2020, one of the higher rates among GEM economies, and higher than Angola (9%) but lower than Togo (18%). Again, this suggests that the transition from intentional, to early stage, and then to the established phase of entrepreneurship in Burkina Faso is not so onerous as it appears to be in other economies, and serves as a promising path for a country that exhibits a need to generate income opportunities as a result of the pandemic.

2020 Framework Conditions Review

For most Framework Conditions, Burkina Faso received relatively low expert scores compared
to many GEM economies. Because it did not participate in the 2019 GEM survey cycle, it is difficult to determine where improvements or decreases occurred and therefore comparison to other economies is essential for reference. In the condition “Access to entrepreneurial finance”, Burkina Faso’s score of 2.7 was the lowest among GEM participating economies. This is an essential condition for aspiring entrepreneurs, made more difficult by the pandemic in many cases. Therefore, more creative means of vetting viable entrepreneurs (52% stated they expect to start a business in the next three years) and supplying finance could have a strong pay-off. However, in the governance- related indicators, Burkina Faso performed better. Its strongest condition — “Government policy: support and relevance” — scored 3.6, 26th overall. This is higher than Angola (2.5), though lower than Togo (4.3). This government support is also reflected in experts’ assessment of the government’s response to the pandemic, scored 4.5, 30th among GEM participating economies. This is on the lower end of GEM economies, though a bit higher than its cumulative governance conditions scores would suggest.

Unfortunately, Burkina Faso’s educational conditions received quite low scores. In “Entrepreneurial education at school”, its 1.6 score was the lowest among GEM economies, while its “Entrepreneurship education post-school” score of 3.4 was the second lowest, ahead of Angola. Burkina Faso’s two “ease of entry” scores also reflected the difficulty of entrepreneurial activity in that economy, both receiving scores that placed them 39th among GEM participating economies. Considering these conditions, barriers to entrepreneurs were especially pronounced during the pandemic. Experts rated the entrepreneurial response to pandemic at 4.8, 44th among GEM participating economies.