APEC adopts grassroots communication strategy to boost citizen engagement
The Agency for the Promotion of Popular Entrepreneurship (APEC) is innovating in its approach to citizen mobilization. Its Director General, Karim Traoré, announced on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, that the institution has decisively adopted a proximity-based communication strategy. The goal is clear: to reach all social strata, including those farthest from urban centers, and make every Burkinabe an active participant in financing national development.
This approach marks a break with traditional communication models often concentrated in major cities.
By meeting populations where they live, using accessible channels and language adapted to each community, APEC aims to remove barriers that may have hindered ordinary citizens’ engagement with internal financing mechanisms.
“Our ambition is to transform every Burkinabe into an actor in national development financing,” Karim Traoré emphasized, noting that mobilizing domestic resources is a strategic lever for the country’s economic independence.
In doing so, APEC relies on grassroots outreach to reach rural populations, women, youth and small entrepreneurs often disconnected from conventional information channels.
Through community exchange sessions, local relays and tailored communication tools, the agency intends to promote financing opportunities and encourage the emergence of high-impact economic and social projects.
Priority is given to local product processing a promising sector where job creation for youth and women can generate significant community benefits.
This proximity strategy is part of a broader vision of decentralizing development efforts.
By bringing the institution closer to beneficiaries, APEC strengthens not only communities’ ownership of initiatives but also accountability and trust. Every citizen whether farmer, trader or artisan is invited to understand how their contribution can support concrete projects that improve daily life.
By choosing to go directly to the people, APEC embraces an approach that upholds the principle that development is not decreed from above but built with those who are its primary actors.
This inclusive, field-based communication deserves recognition as it embodies a modern vision of governance: one that places people at the heart of the system and acknowledges that reaching all social layers is how a lasting national dynamic is built.
As Burkina Faso bets on popular entrepreneurship as a lever of economic sovereignty, APEC’s commitment to proximity may well prove decisive.
Cédric KABORE
