Burkinabè billionaire Idrissa Nassa's Coris Bank donates $178,000 to children of fallen soldiers

Coris Bank International, the lender founded by Burkinabè billionaire Idrissa Nassa, has donated 100 million CFA francs, about $178,000, to Burkina Faso's government to support the children of soldiers and civilian volunteers killed in the country's war against armed groups.

The bank handed over the check on Sept. 25 in Ouagadougou to the Minister of Family and Solidarity, Lt. Col. Passowendé Pélagie Kabré. The money will go toward the care of the country's "pupilles de la Nation," the children of members of the defense and security forces and of the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, a civilian auxiliary force, who died in service.

The donation fulfills a pledge Nassa made in August, when he announced that he would personally commit 100 million CFA francs to cover schooling for the children.

Gisèle Gumedzoe, the bank's managing director, said the management team had been mandated by Nassa to deliver on his commitment. "This is first of all an act of recognition toward all those who fell and paid the ultimate sacrifice so that the nation can stand," she said.

Kabré said the funds would be used to strengthen support for the 1,073 children currently registered as pupilles de la Nation. She promised that the money would be managed rigorously and transparently, and said her ministry would send reports to Coris Bank so the lender can track how it is spent.

A wider push in Burkina Faso

The gift follows a much larger commitment by the bank in August, when it signed a memorandum of understanding to provide up to $712 million in financing for public hospitals and schools in Burkina Faso. The agreement is a statement of intent rather than a binding loan, and neither side disclosed a disbursement schedule or terms.

Burkina Faso has been fighting armed groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State for more than a decade. The violence has killed thousands of soldiers, volunteer fighters and civilians, and the government has called on businesses to contribute to the national war effort and to the care of victims' families.

From bicycle parts to a regional bank

Nassa started out in business in 1984, trading bicycle parts and consumer goods across West African borders. He later moved into printing and then into finance, taking over the Financière du Burkina, a struggling financial institution, which he rebuilt and converted into Coris Bank International in January 2008 with about $3 million in capital.

The bank has since become one of the largest in Burkina Faso and has expanded across West and Central Africa, with subsidiaries in Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Benin, Togo, Guinea, Niger and Senegal. In 2024, it completed the purchase of a 67.8% stake in Société Générale Tchad from the French bank.

Coris Bank's Burkina Faso entity is listed on the regional BRVM stock exchange in Abidjan. It had a market value of about 662.4 billion CFA francs, or roughly $1.18 billion, in May.

The group has continued to raise money for its expansion. In October 2025, it received €100 million in a co-investment led by Mediterrania Capital Partners alongside development lenders FMO, British International Investment, BIO and Denmark's IFU. In August, it signed an €80 million facility with the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development to fund lending for food, energy and agriculture.