Burkina Faso's SAF value chain is almost entirely upstream and aspirational. The ICAO feasibility study (fieldwork ~2017) frames the country as a feedstock producer, not a fuel producer: it explicitly states that "the nonexistence of a basic petrochemical or refining infrastructure does not seem to permit an autonomous aviation fuel production capacity," and recommends interim EXPORT of feedstock for conversion to SAF at overseas facilities. The feedstock stage is the only one with real (if troubled) actors and history: a decade of jatropha programs (Faso Biocarburant, Agritech Faso/JOil, and the sole survivor Belwet), supported by government bodies (Ministry of Energy's Renewable Energy Directorate, ANEREE) and donors (UNDP, GEF). Other candidate feedstocks include agricultural residues (sorghum, rice husks), elephant grass, MSW, animal fats, and cashew/shea nutshell oils. Downstream of feedstock the chain is effectively empty: there is no SAF conversion plant, no blending into jet fuel, no airport SAF uplift (only a suggestion that FAME biodiesel could fuel diesel ground support equipment at Ouagadougou Airport), and no SAF certification/MRV/registry/book-and-claim infrastructure. The only sustainability-finance constructs discussed are REDD+ carbon credits, mining (gold) revenue reallocation, and PPPs — none of which is an operational SAF crediting mechanism. Web research confirms no Burkina Faso-specific SAF financing exists as of 2025-2026; AfDB/SEFA engagement in-country is solar/mini-grid (Desert-to-Power, Dédougou) rather than SAF, while SAF finance for Africa remains continental and generic (EIB/EBRD/AfDB joint statement, AfDB-JGC agreement, AU Continental SAF Strategy adopted Feb 2025).1
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Opportunity No domestic SAF conversion capacity whatsoever — the study itself rules it out due to absent petrochemical/refining infrastructure, defaulting to feedstock export
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Opportunity No domestic SAF conversion capacity whatsoever — the study itself rules it out due to absent petrochemical/refining infrastructure, defaulting to feedstock export
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Opportunity No blending infrastructure for neat SAF into jet fuel; only state monopoly SONABHY handles conventional fuel import/distribution
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Opportunity No airport SAF uplift/hydrant or demonstration-flight pathway; Air Burkina and Ouagadougou Airport are not engaged as offtakers — only a hypothetical FAME-for-GSE use
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Opportunity SAF sustainability certification body (RSB / ISCC) recognition and on-the-ground certification
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