Africa economy
Benin dreams of becoming a pan-African digital hub
Audio 02:22
A view of Cotonou, the capital of Benin (Illustrative image) AP - Salako Valentin
By: Olivier Rogez Follow
2 mins
Benin is engaged in a profound transformation of its economy, and among the sectors most supported by the State, there is that of new technologies and digital.
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From our special correspondent in Cotonou,
"
Our public services are dematerialized, we have a portal that provides information on nearly five hundred transactions with the public administration...
".
Aurélie Adam Soulé is Benin's Minister of Digital Economy and Digitization.
He is very proud of having made the digitization of public services possible in record time: "
You pay online, you can obtain your document online, and therefore for business leaders wishing to save time, it is a considerable asset that we offer them,
” she explains.
To make the sector emerge, the State has invested massively in recent years.
“
Over the past few years, we have made nearly 80 million euros of investment in digital infrastructure.
We have submarine cables that allow quality international connectivity, we have a national fiber optic backbone across the whole country, which we are densifying, we are strengthening.
continues Aurélie Adam Soulé.
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A voluntarism which for the local companies of the sector must be used with caution, estimates Gilles Kounou, CEO of Open SI, one of the most important Beninese IT services companies.
He says that "
if there are great players who know how to do it, you have to work with the best in the sector and avoid reinventing the wheel
".
“ On the
other hand ,
”
he continues,
“
on purely local subjects, they have to collaborate with local companies.
But this desire to save time must not kill in the bud any desire for innovation or any development of deep technical skills.
»
This balance between the local ecosystem and foreign partners is, according to Minister Aurélie Adam Soulé, the concern of the authorities.
Richard Odjrado, who manufactures laptops adapted to the Beninese market in Asia, would like this desire to be expressed more vigorously: “
I would say that the best support we need today is public orders.
From the moment we have quality computers, of African, Beninese brand, it would be logical that we find them everywhere in our institutions and ministries.
We produce computers and we must consume them first.
»
In a few years, Benin has developed a flourishing tech sector.
Several international call centers have set up there, Beninese start-ups are beginning to conquer markets in the sub-region.
And the country now dreams of attracting more of a global tech giant, like Kenya and South Africa.
► Also to listen: Benin relies on multidimensional tourism
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