Between 2019 and 2022, the number of new businesses created by young people in Benin rose from 7,416 to 23,312. This is a growth of 212%,” says Laurent Gangbes, Director General of the Investment and Export Promotion Agency (APIEx) in Benin, which is behind an initiative to “digitise government services and make it easier to do business in this West African country”. Indeed, UNCTAD and Benin have developed a business facilitation project supported by the Netherlands.
In 2020, for example, UNCTAD designed the MyEnterprise.bj platform, using low-code software to help businesses start up efficiently online. For its part, Benin has set up a digital business environment offering innovative services to the private sector and enabling businesses to flourish. “Benin’s story is one of creating an enabling environment,” says Frank Grozel, UNCTAD’s Business Facilitation Officer.
“The boom in online youth businesses reflects the entrepreneurial ambitions of Benin’s youth”
APIEx admits that “the [youth business] boom, driven by low-code software developed by UNCTAD, reflects a national demand for digital services that support entrepreneurial ambitions.
Richard Odjrado, a 34-year-old entrepreneur, was able to turn a stolen mobile phone into a positive experience. After his phone was stolen twice, he created an anti-theft tracker for smartphones that alerts the owner if the phone is moved without his permission. And, using a smartwatch, locates the phone if it is lost or stolen. It took him nearly two years of research to develop his anti-theft solution before launching his company AS World Tech, which also makes glasses and laptops.
Today, Richard Odjrado’s business is thriving thanks to the digital approach adopted by the Beninese government. The MyBusiness.bj platform has saved him time and hassle. “I did everything online, from registering my business to getting my tax identification number,” he says.
Less than two years later, AS World Tech exports to 56 countries, including France and China. It plans to build a new 16,000 m2 factory in Benin and to recruit 218 people. A “success” that makes him say that “the informal sector does not give any legitimacy or serious commercial relations. It is therefore necessary to regularise oneself”.
“33% of the 56,579 new businesses created in Benin in 2022 will be created by women“
It is not only young people who create online businesses in Benin. The number of businesses created by women doubled between 2019 (8,936) and 2022 (18,764). Caludia Togbe is one of those women who are taking full advantage of this facility.
“I have experienced an online business registration system that works wonders,” said Caludia Togbe. She continued: “Every entrepreneur dreams of starting a business from home. In other countries in the sub-region, it takes three weeks to do so. Women represent 33% of the 56,579 new businesses created in Benin in 2022.
For Claudia Togbe, it was not easy at first. But the regularisation of her business changed the image of “an eternal young person for the job” at first. To get out of that situation, “and with just three or four clicks”, she launched Origine Terre, a cosmetics company based on natural products. “I always knew that I wanted to be my own boss. But it wasn’t until I hit rock bottom that I decided to take the plunge and start my own business,” she recalls.
It all started in her kitchen where she made the cosmetics she sold at local markets. Until she moved into a small workshop and started recruiting employees.
Today, Origine Terre is a popular phenomenon in Benin. Opened in 2020 on MonEnterprise, it has expanded to include skin, hair and body care products. Its products are sold in shops throughout France and online. But also in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Togo.
Source: Africa News Agency
