The USAID Sahel Regional Office (SRO) in Dakar requested the USAID Bureau of Food Security (BFS) and the U.S. Global Development Lab (the Lab) conduct an assessment of the current and potential use of digital tools to enhance the reach and impact of its activities aimed at food security and resilience under the new U.S. Government Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS) country plan for Niger. The assessment was broadened to include USAID/Burkina Faso given its joint resilience programming and relevance as a USAID resilience focus country.

This report covers the first part of the joint assessment, conducted through desk research and a two-week TDY in Burkina Faso. The assessment team found a relatively strong and growing digital ecosystem in Burkina Faso. The level of mobile usage, strength of local service providers, and range of digital available exceeded the assessment team’s expectations and suggests a wide range of opportunities to leverage digital tools to accelerate progress toward USAID’s food security and resilience objectives in the country.