A high-level workshop was held in Cotonou from Thursday 22 to Saturday 24 May 2025 around the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) initiative. This workshop aims to strengthen the mobilization of domestic resources in African countries that are signatories to the Pact.

The G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) initiative by the African Center for Economic Transformation (Acet), the Government of Benin, the Government of Benin, the World Bank, the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other partners. It is a platform for the exchange of experiences, good practices and concrete strategies in the area of financing local development. The objective of this workshop is to reduce the dependence of African countries on external financing and to strengthen their budgetary autonomy. The participants assessed the progress made since the commitments made in 2018, especially in the management of disaster risks, but above all to identify current challenges and opportunities to improve economic resilience through better mobilization of domestic resources.

Selon Mamadou Tanou Balde, représentant de la Banque mondiale in Benin, through the modernization of the administration fiscal, digitalization and the simplification of procedures, the country has been able to reverse a worrying trend. From 11.1% of GDP in 2016, tax revenues reached around 15% in 2024, despite a gradual decrease in official development assistance (from 0.8% to 0.4% of GDP). These results, according to him, have enabled Benin to deal with major external shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the surge in prices in 2022 and regional security tensions. The Cotonou workshop is not limited to a simple sharing of experiences. It is part of a wider strategic dynamic which is that of building, with African countries, economies that are resilient, sovereign and capable of financing their own development