Overview
Benin, a lower-middle-income country in West Africa, has around 14 million inhabitants, of whom 65% are under 20 years old. The country’s strategic location on the Gulf of Guinea makes it a commercial hub. Its northern regions face major security challenges, as the Sahel becomes increasingly unstable.
The government has launched ambitious reforms to manage the public finances more effectively, drive forward the country’s efforts to transform its economy, provide higher quality education and training for the country’s citizens.
Our partnership
The EU supports Benin's sustainable and inclusive development. This support is aligned with the government’s action programme 2021-2026 (“Programme d’action 2021-2026”), its National Development Programme 2018-2025 (“Programme national de Développement 2018-2025”) and the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy.
Our partnership seeks to foster a more prosperous and secure society. It supports the country’s efforts to develop an environmentally sustainable economy (the ‘green transition’), equip its people with the skills and training they need (‘human capital’) and create jobs.
Team Europe in Benin brings together the European Union, the European Investment Bank, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
Through the EU’s Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe), the EU allocated an initial envelope of EUR 255 million for Benin for the period 2021-2024 under the national programme. The envelope for the period 2025-2027 is of EUR 172 million.
Benin also benefits from many bilateral, multi-country and globally-supported EU initiatives. These include the regional programme for Sub-Saharan Africa and thematic programme under NDICI-Global Europe and other financial instrument.
Our flagship initiatives
- Investing in green energy
Team Europe in Benin focuses on boosting renewable energy and energy efficiency and modernising clean energy services:
- Capacity-building:
- Supporting the government and its institutions in policy and legislative processes
- Removing technical, financial and regulatory barriers
- Solar:
- Upgrading solar power infrastructure sector so far by at least 64 MW by 2027
- Deploying off-grid solar systems in rural areas
- Promoting solar standalone systems, improved cook stoves and the management of electronic waste
- Avoiding so far at least 92 ktCO2 per year.
- Hydro:
- Co-financing the modernisation of the Nangbeto hydropower plant along the Benin-Togo border with a production capacity of 65 MW.
- Electrification:
- Supporting the expansion of transmission infrastructure
- Supporting the expansion of the distribution network primarily in the Atlantic region and around the capital
- Expanding access to electricity so far for at least 1 million people by 2027
- Regional market:
- Reinforcing the regional energy market through the West African Power Pool (WAPP)
- Establishing the WAPP Information and Coordination Centre
- Supporting the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
- Capacity-building:
- Sustainable ports, transport and trade
Team Europe’s transport and trade initiatives in Benin are helping to improve the country’s road and maritime links, which make it a regional commercial hub while preserving the eco-systems:
- Port of Cotonou:
- Upgrading the port through reforms to support investment and public-private partnerships
- Constructing a new fishing harbour
- Boosting activities around the port, skills, and the business climate
- Improving the port’s environmental and energy efficiency
- Improving the port’s safety and security
- Preserving the coastal eco-system:
- Protecting biodiversity in the Mono Delta Biosphere Reserve the Bouche du Roy marine protected area.
- Improving rainwater sanitation and stormwater drainage in Abomey-Calavi and Seme-Kpodji cities
- Installing sanitation systems and supporting wastewater treatment in the west of Cotonou
- Roads:
- Upgrading roads that put Benin at the heart of two Global Gateway strategic transport corridors:
- Between Cotonou (Benin) and Niamey (Niger) including the 210km Djougou-Pehunco-Kerou road and the 152km Allada-Dassa road.
- Between Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) and Lagos (Nigeria).
- Regional initiatives on trade facilitation along these corridors.
- Upgrading roads that put Benin at the heart of two Global Gateway strategic transport corridors:
- Port of Cotonou:
- Sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs
Benin is committed to harnessing its human capital to drive inclusive and sustainable growth. The EU’s supports this commitment in several ways:
- Promoting reforms to improve the business environment and investment climate as well as raise taxes more efficiently (revenue mobilisation).
- Entrepreneurship: Benin is a pilot country for the Team Europe Initiative ‘Investing in Young Businesses in Africa (IYBA)’, launched in Cotonou in March 2024:
- Providing finance and expertise to early-stage businesses and young entrepreneurs
- Fostering the growth of business incubators, venture capital funds and other organisations supporting entrepreneurs (the ‘entrepreneurship ecosystem’)
- Job creation through support SMEs providing access to finance and expertise.
- Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET): Modernising TVET to align with market needs, focusing on areas with the highest growth potential: agriculture, digitalisation, tourism.
- Constructing and renovating TVET schools.
- Supporting training institutions.
- Training TVET teachers.
- Offering training opportunities.
- Promoting educational mobility and capacity-building by organising student and staff exchanges with the EU through Erasmus+ projects.
- Agrifood systems and rural development:
- Increasing agricultural productivity.
- Supporting the development of a pastoral economy
- Building capacity for climate-resilient food systems.
- Social protection: Promoting reforms to provide greater access to basic social services, such as healthcare.
- Security in northern Benin
Increasing instability and insecurity in the Sahel is affecting Benin’s northern regions. Team Europe support takes an integrated approach, focusing on:
- Security and defence forces: Providing equipment and training to combat organised crime and terrorism by:
- Conducting aerial observation
- Managing borders
- Addressing the issue of improvised explosive devices
- Investigating and prosecuting
- Improving access to essential services:
- Drinking water supplies
- Water drainage infrastructures
- Solar energy through mini-grids and transmission lines
- Job opportunities:
- Promoting innovation and technical and vocational education and training to create more jobs for young people.
- Supporting women’s education.
- Displaced people:
- Increasing protection and solutions for people forced to leave their homes because of the crisis in the Sahel.
- Alleviating pressure on the fragile communities which host these people.
- Security and defence forces: Providing equipment and training to combat organised crime and terrorism by:
A significant part of this contribution to the policies of the Government of Benin in the framework of these flagship initiatives is channelled through budget support, a direct disbursement of funds to the national treasury based on the achievements of selected reforms.