馃嚙馃嚝Burkina FasoWest Africa
OAPI and UNFPA launch second phase of women's economic empowerment project in Burkina Faso
via Lefaso.net3 min read
The official launch of the second phase of the "Economic Empowerment of Women through Innovation and Access to Intellectual Property" AFPI project is taking place in Burkina Faso's capital from June 9 to 12, 2026. This initiative is led by the African Intellectual Property Organization OAPI in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund UNFPA. The project aims to promote female innovation and increase women's participation in scientific, technological, and agri-food sectors. It seeks to provide women with tools to protect their creations, enhance their innovations, and improve their businesses' competitiveness in national and international markets. The second phase of the AFPI project focuses on strategic actions, including strengthening beneficiaries' capacities through training and awareness campaigns, supporting the filing of industrial property titles, and identifying and mapping high-value-added female initiatives. The project also plans to create a platform for exchange between women in technology and those in agro-pastoral and agri-food sectors. Specific support will be given to innovative projects resulting from collaborations between young engineers and agribusiness entrepreneurs. This new phase follows a successful first phase implemented in Cameroon in August 2025, which motivated the expansion to Burkina Faso with the goal of fostering an inclusive innovation ecosystem and strengthening women's economic empowerment. Yacouba Zabr茅 Gouba, the minister in c
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