Burkina Faso has fewer resources, no seaport, serious security challenges, a landlocked economy, and has faced international pressure — yet under Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the country has pursued an increasingly ambitious agenda of local production, agriculture, processing, infrastructure, and economic self-reliance. So what is Burkina Faso doing differently?

In this powerful discussion, we examine the Traoré approach to leadership and economic development and ask why some of Africa’s larger and more resource-rich countries continue to struggle with unemployment, inflation, imports, weak manufacturing, and dependence on foreign products.

The bigger lesson may not be about the size of Burkina Faso’s economy. It may be about how a government chooses to use what it already has.

From local cotton and Faso Dan Fani to agricultural processing, domestic manufacturing, state-led economic initiatives, infrastructure, and efforts to reduce dependence on imports, Burkina Faso is pursuing a model centered on production before consumption and local capacity before external dependence.

But there is an important question: Can the policies being pursued under Traoré deliver sustainable long-term economic transformation, or are supporters getting ahead of the evidence?