Baro was born on December 31, 1952, in Toussiana, Houet Province, French Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), and spent most of his youth in Bobo-Dioulasso.

[citation needed] Baro began his career in Burkina Faso in 1978 as the head of the studies and regulations department of the Treasury and Public Accounting sector of Upper Volta's Ministry of the Economy.

After the 1983 Upper Voltan coup d'état, Baro became Minister of Finance between 1983 and 1986, and held several economy-related positions during Thomas Sankara's administration.

[4] He worked at the WAEMU as commissioner of the economic policies department until 1996, when he was appointed as vice-governor of the Central Bank of West African States (CBWAS), replacing Kadre Desire Ouedraogo.

[8] Following the 2014 Burkina Faso uprising, Justin Damo Baro left his position as special advisor to Honoré Traoré in December 2014.