COVID-19 Update from Burkina Faso by Sidi Mohamed Naimi

During a crisis such as COVID-19, the telecommunications sector usually experiences an increase in traffic (especially data nowadays) which then fades away for the following reasons :

• The decline in economic activity, which erodes customers’ purchasing power
• The new trade-offs that direct revenues towards basic necessities

The curfew that starts at 7 pm (i.e. the start of the busy hour) has a negative impact on consumption (less activity, difficulty to top up credit, etc.).

Cancellations of all commercial activities reduce sales and especially slow down the growth of the customer base.

Restrictions due to COVID-19, in addition to those related to terrorism, have increased the time required to fix the network, which also impacts revenues.

With COVID-19, restrictions on national and international travel (quarantines) reduce revenues, particularly international revenues (roaming).

At ONATEL, we are already entering the phase of revenue stagnation after enjoying a strong growth in the first week. However, we are working on new offers in order to relieve our customers of activity decline, and meet the needs emerging from the confinement as more people are working from home and require more data.