CASE STUDIES FROM AFRICA

Case Study 4: Cultural Services: Burkina Faso
Cultural services enjoy both a long tradition and regional comparative advantage in Burkina
Faso. Burkina Faso has significantly contributed to Africa’s cultural sector in recent years,
especially in popular film, fashion, and music. Cultural activities in Burkina Faso are diverse
and often exported. Prominent examples are:
Thirteen festivals and cultural events held annually or bi-annually; the best known is
FESPACO, the Pan-African Festival of Cinema and Television of Ouagadougou, which
began in 1969
Eight cultural schools and institutions, two of which are very well known in the region:
ISIS and Imagine, both film training institutes.
Estimates indicate the cultural sector contributes 2% of Burkinabe GDP; however, this figure
does not include tourism revenue from cultural event attendees. Adding this indirect revenue
would increase this percentage considerably: Tourists bring foreign exchange to the hotel,
catering, transport, and restaurant sectors. The case study estimates that these indirect impacts
generate nearly as much as the direct impacts, or around € 20 million annually, making the total
contribution of cultural services to Burkina Faso’s economy nearly € 40 million (US$ 48 million 2 )
annually, approximately 4% of GDP.
Burkina Faso exports its cultural services through all four modes of service supply. However,
most exports have been carried out through Mode 2: International tourists come to Burkina
Faso to experience its music, dance, and film festivals, and Burkina Faso educates foreign artists
and students. Burkinabe artists—musicians, dancers, and film producers—also travel regularly
to promote and perform their art, providing exports of Mode 4.
Government Policies that Made a Difference
The Government of Burkina Faso has actively promoted cultural services development in
multiple ways, including recognising cultural services in the 1991 Constitution and providing
financial support to cultural industries. The government has also encouraged passage of several
legislative and regulatory texts supporting development of cultural services; both cultural
services and related tourism industries are mentioned as priority sectors in the national Growth
Strategy 2011–2015. Finally, numerous public-private partnerships have been undertaken in the
cultural services sector.
Constraints on Future Growth
Several significant constraints confront Burkina Faso in its objective to increase exports of
cultural services. The country’s low rank on the human development index (181 of 187)
indicates a lack of the requisite infrastructure to support the growth of the tourism sector.
Infrastructure weaknesses include transport, electricity, water and sanitation, and the
2
In 2015 U.S. dollars.
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