Burkina Faso aims for digital sovereignty with infrastructure supervision center

Burkina Faso has started work on a facility meant to supervise the country’s digital public infrastructure (DPI). This move advances the government’s ambitions of ensuring the country’s digital sovereignty in the face of increasing digital threats.

Launched by the government through the Ministry of Digital Transition, Posts, and Electronic Communications, the Digital Infrastructure Supervision Center is expected to cost around $5.4 million, according to a ministry announcement.

Per the government, the facility will help to centralize the supervision of the national backbone network, secure the country’s cyberspace, oversee the operation of data centers, as well as facilitate the maintenance and protection of the state’s critical digital infrastructure.

“It will constitute an essential tool for effective, secure, and sovereign management of national digital systems. Through these actions, the Government reaffirms its determination to strengthen national digital sovereignty and the resilience of strategic infrastructures,” the announced mentioned.

The structure will be constructed within a period of nine months, with delivery expected by October.

The project is also in line with a major aspect of Burkina Faso’s digital transformation strategy which is that none of the country’s data should be stored abroad, and that all critical digital infrastructure must be adequately protected.

Digital Transition Minister, Aminata Zerbo, highlighted the importance of the facility, praised all the stakeholders involved and promised the delivery of a cutting-edge structure that meets requirements and international standards.

For Burkina Faso, the supervision center is a significant project which will go a long way in bridging the country’s digital infrastructure gap, and possibly position it for better AI adoption.

As highlighted in The State of AI in Africa Report 2025 produced by the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT), African countries must take steps towards streamlining AI adoption, and one of those steps is to focus on developing sovereign, open and inclusive data and connectivity systems.

With a military ruler, Burkina Faso has been trying to re-assert itself in diverse domains including digital. At the close of last year, the government launched a new generation biometric ID system in a major step forward for its digital transformation drive.

The country is part of the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) trio that also launched its common biometric passport last year after a break-away from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Article Topics

Africa  |  Burkina Faso  |  data protection  |  digital inclusion  |  digital public infrastructure  |  digital sovereignty  |  Sahel