Burkina Faso Nationalizes SOFITEX To Secure Cotton/Textile Industry

The government of Burkina Faso has announced that it will be nationalizing the country’s largest cotton manufacturer, Société Burkinabè des Fibres Textiles (SOFITEX), in a move to boost Burkina Faso’s textile industry. The announcement, made on April 16, 2026, by the country’s Council of Ministers, comes on the heels of years of operational stagnation for SOFITEX, stagnation which has hurt the living standards of Burkinabé cotton farmers – those who actually produce the value. The government hopes to change this status quo by assuming full ownership of the company.

Under the leadership of President Ibrahim Traoré, Burkina Faso has taken bold steps to reassert its sovereignty and harness its natural wealth for the betterment of its people. Along with its fellow Alliance of Sahel States (AES) members, Mali and Niger, it has continued to record economic and political wins in the face of relentless attacks by Western-backed terrorists, economic isolation and sovereignty violations by Western-aligned African states, and endless slander from Western and Western-aligned media.

🗣️The government of Burkina Faso has made a historic decision to nationalize Société burkinabè des fibres textiles (SOFITEX), the country’s largest cotton company and a main pillar in the textile industry in Burkina Faso.

🗣️The government made this decision at a cabinet meeting on April 16, 2026.

🗣️SOFITEX is a public limited company, with a share capital of approximately $35 million. 89% of its stock is held by the Burkinabé state, with 5% held by state entities and 6% by local and and international entities.

🗣️In a report published by the country’s Council of Ministers, Burkina Faso Minister of Industry, Trade and Crafts, Serge Gnainodem Poda, explained that SOFITEX has been facing financial difficulties over the years due to high operational costs, and high debt levels, which has resulted in less pay for cotton farmers-those who actually create the value in the cotton and textiles industry in Burkina Faso.

🗣️SOFITEX, the Burkina Faso dominant cotton company (controlling approximately 80% of the cotton market in Burkina Faso). The government will buy out all remaining private shares to form a state-owned entity to tackle high debt, reverse declining production, and take greater control over the country’s vital textile-cotton industry.

🗣️A 2025 assessment valued SOFITEX at 338.14 billion CFA francs (approximately $607 million). The private stake to be acquired is valued at over 75 billion CFA francs.

🗣️With its decision now to own a 100% stake in SOFITEX, the Burkina Faso government has set a production output target of 500,000 metric tons of cotton for the 2026 season, nearly doubling the 292,660 metric tons recorded in the 2024/2025 season.

🗣️Under the leadership of President Captain Ibrahim Traoré, Burkina Faso has taken bold steps to reclaim its sovereignty, nationalizing key resources and revisiting key mining contracts offered by previous administrations to foreign multinational companies.

🗣️On April 19, 2026, the Burkina Faso government notified Australian mining company, West Africa Resource Limited (WAF), of its intentions to increase its stake in Burkina Faso’s Kiaka gold mine-from 15% to 45%. WAF has been operating in Burkina Faso since 2020, striking gold in March that year, after a decade of resource exploration.

🗣️Burkina Faso’s move echoes the bold moves of its fellow Alliance of Sahel States (AES) members, Mali and Niger to regain control of their sovereign wealth and set a new standard of self-determination, autonomy, sovereignty and true independence for Kmt=Abibiman=Farafin=Land of the Blacks=Land of the Black People (the Continent of Africa).