Evaluation Summary - Secondary Cities Project, Burkina Faso

In 2009, the rate of access to electricity in Burkina Faso stood at around 13%, well below the average of the ECOWAS countries (19%). The country’s energy mix was highly dependent on thermal energy. The country then embarked on a proactive policy to improve access to energy services. The project’s overarching goal was to contribute to the Burkinabe policy of extending access to energy services for the population at a lower cost.
 
The CBF3031 project, Secondary Cities, achieved its main objective, i.e. “contribute to the Burkinabe policy for the extension at a lower cost of the population’s access to energy services”. In addition to improving the access and quality of the service in an area impacted by the Sahelian crisis, the project also helped to reduce SONABEL’s operating costs.  
 
Beyond this success, the evaluation makes it possible to identify areas of progress for similar SONABEL projects in the future with respect to: monitoring environmental and social measures, sizing the assistance to the contracting authority and the team in charge of project monitoring, and strengthening the capacities and resources for studies and planning.