The third quarter of 2025 saw the creation up close of 15,000 businesses. But the challenge of transforming this dynamism into growth inclusive and sustainable remains to be addressed.

The Observatory of Commerce, Industry and services (Ocis) has published figures according to which, the number of businesses registered between July and September 2025 amounts to 14,838 after 14,863 at second quarter of the year, representing a slight decrease of 0.2%. The fabric entrepreneurial is characterized by a high proportion of businesses individuals (around 90%) and a significant presence of women and young people among the creators. Young people aged 21 to 45 make up about 85% of total of newly registered entrepreneurs, practically the same proportion in the previous two quarters (86% and 84%). The share of women female managers among new businesses rose to 38%, an increase of 3% compared to the second quarter.

The Atlantic is home to around 31% of registrations, followed by Littoral (20%) and Ouémé (16%), three departments that concentrate the country's major economic centers.

This entrepreneurial dynamism must be accompanied to become a transformer. Among the challenges, it is important to ensure access to financing for young entrepreneurs, to support formalization and the structuring of businesses, strengthening management skills and innovation, and encourage the integration of new businesses into wider value chains.