On 25 September 2025, S\u00e8m\u00e8 City and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (ADPME) presented in Cotonou the first cohort of accredited Entrepreneurship Support Organisations (OAE) in Benin. Out of 62 applications received when the process was launched, only fifteen organisations were selected, after a structured process combining accreditation, technical support and, since February 2026, a support grant. The scheme is backed financially and technically by the World Bank, through the FP2E programme.<\/p>
The official grant ceremony was held on 6 February 2026 in Cotonou, bringing together the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Employment Promotion, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Benin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the teams of S\u00e8m\u00e8 City and ADPME. A selection rate of less than one application in four: the figure is worth remembering, because it is what gives the label its meaning.<\/p>
Benin\u2019s approach is innovative: rather than subsidising only individual companies, the state is choosing to strengthen the organisations that support them day to day \u2014 incubators, fablabs, university centres, support networks. For the director general of S\u00e8m\u00e8 City, this strategic choice aims to transform the whole Beninese entrepreneurial ecosystem in a lasting way.<\/p>
By professionalising these fifteen organisations, the public authorities are betting that they will in turn spread support to international standards to thousands of project leaders. The calculation is one of leverage: a grant given to a hundred companies produces a hundred effects; the same sum invested in fifteen organisations that each support several dozen project leaders a year produces a multiplied effect, and above all one that can be repeated from one cohort to the next.<\/p>
A total budget of 1.49 million US dollars has been mobilised for this purpose. Beyond funding, the accredited organisations receive 14 months of technical support to strengthen their governance, support methods, monitoring and evaluation tools and human resources \u2014 the most frequently identified needs being infrastructure and equipment, digitisation of systems and building internal skills.<\/p>
| N\u00b0<\/th>\n | Accredited organisation<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|
| 1<\/td>\n | Future Studio<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 2<\/td>\n | Etrilabs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 3<\/td>\n | UAC Foundation \u2013 Startup Valley (RAUAC-SV)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 4<\/td>\n | Fram Business<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 5<\/td>\n | L\u2019Envol<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 6<\/td>\n | Women EdTech<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 7<\/td>\n | SENS B\u00e9nin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 8<\/td>\n | Waxangari Labs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 9<\/td>\n | Sud Capital<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 10<\/td>\n | Iroko Fablab<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 11<\/td>\n | Sodesi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 12<\/td>\n | Innovation Design Factory (Africa Design School)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 13<\/td>\n | CDE \u2013 University of Parakou<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 14<\/td>\n | Blolab<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 15<\/td>\n | CePEPE<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div> According to the organisers, this first cohort illustrates the richness and diversity of Benin\u2019s entrepreneurial ecosystem: digital, innovation, creative industries, agro-processing and classic incubation are all represented, with organisations based in several regions of the country, not just in Cotonou. The presence of the CDE of the University of Parakou in the north, or of L\u2019Envol in Abomey-Calavi, bears witness to this.<\/p> How to read this list and choose the right organisation<\/h2>The label does not tell you which organisation suits you: it tells you which ones have passed a serious examination. The choice is then made on three criteria that can be checked in a single visit or call.<\/p>
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