Sustainable growth: the World Bank presents Benin's economic outlook

Addressing the press last Monday, Alexandre Henry, World Bank economist, presented the report, “Benin Economic Perspectives”, subtitled “Revealing Benin by focusing on economic corridors”.

In presenting the report on the prospects for the Beninese economy, Mr. Henry noted that after a strong rebound to 7.2% in 2021, Benin's real growth remained robust to 6.3% in 2022 in a context of global geopolitical tension and general instability. “The tertiary sector remains the main contributor to growth in 2022 with a strong contribution from the transport, trade and administrative services sector,” he said

"At the end of 2022, inflation reached 2.9%, a moderate level explained by fiscal measures to combat inflation as well as the good 2022 agricultural season for food crops,” he noted, adding that the expiration of support measures and the rise in gasoline prices have accelerated the overall rise in prices since February 2023.

Focus on economic corridors

The report indicates that sustainable growth in Benin requires the construction of economic corridors, capable of generating positive synergies. The development of multimodal solutions aimed at connecting the seaport and land transit is essential in order to give Benin a place as an essential regional platform. According to the authors, the transformations could revolve around dry ports, staging points in the economic corridor, capable of enhancing local agricultural production by giving it access to new markets

This dynamic would also include logistics services with higher added value, such as refrigerated transport, as well as the rail dimension that could complement road connections in order to support commercial flows. Indeed, Benin's strategic position remains a considerable economic asset for the country, notes Alexandre Henry, lead author of the report. Indeed, he notes that Benin is a privileged corridor for landlocked border countries in the sub-region, especially those in the hinterland: Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, he points out. The port of Cotonou is also a closer and faster transhipment point to the neighboring giant to the east, Nigeria, which accounts for 41% of official trade, not to mention the highly developed informal flows between

According to Alexandre Henry, the Antwerp management contract made it possible to initiate improvements to the port platform, with a multi-year investment plan of 350 billion CFA francs aimed at improving its management and profitability. The ongoing modernization works should, in the medium term, boost the performance of the “lungs of the national economy”, which benefits from the poor performance of the Port of Lagos, whose facilities have not increased since 1997.

By Félicienne HOUESSOU