The finding comes up in almost every study: in Benin, more than 80% of economic units operate in the informal sector. A government note covering 2016-2021 estimated informal jobs at 82% of jobs created \u2014 nearly one million out of a total of about 1.2 million. For small traders, craftspeople and sole traders, this situation limits access to credit, social protection and public procurement, and holds back the growth of businesses that could scale up with the right support.<\/p>\n
It is worth measuring what this figure implies. An economy growing at 7% a year, but where four units out of five remain outside the formal sphere, produces growth a large part of which escapes taxation, bank lending and statistics. Above all, it produces capped businesses: without financial statements, without a trade register entry, without a banking history, a business can neither borrow, nor bid for a public contract, nor sign a supply contract with a manufacturer who requires compliant invoices. Informality is not just lost revenue for the state; it is a glass ceiling for the entrepreneur.<\/p>\n
Since the 2020 SME framework law and the creation of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (ADPME) in 2022, Benin has set up a one-stop support service present in all 77 of the country\u2019s municipalities. The Benin Entrepreneurship Support Project (PAEB), with 32.2 million euros over 2023-2028 and funded by the French Development Agency and the European Union, has already supported 160 SMEs in its first phase \u2014 46 of them led by women \u2014 with more than 3.3 billion FCFA deployed. Its 2026 cohort, launched in March, targets 365 additional SMEs.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the RISE programme, run jointly by S\u00e8m\u00e8 City and ADPME with World Bank support, has already selected 86 SMEs in agribusiness, digital, services and renewable energy. Together they form a pyramid of schemes that is fairly easy to read once you know its levels: microcredit for subsistence activity and small trade, technical and financial support for the SME that is structuring itself, capital and strategic support for the high-potential company.<\/p>\n
What these schemes have in common deserves to be stressed, because it determines how successful an application will be: they all require a formally registered company and presentable accounts. The registration receipt is not just another administrative formality; it is the key to the entire support system.<\/p>\n