The first steering committee meeting for the project evaluating the state of digital readiness in Benin took place on Friday, March 13, 2020, at the African School of Economics (ASE). This meeting enabled ASE’s multiple partners, including Digital Pathways at Oxford University, the Embassy of the Netherlands, officials from the government of Benin, and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Communications, to define the various axes on which the committee will intervene so as to align with the Beninese government’s predefined digitalization objectives.
Funded by the Embassy of the Netherlands, the African School of Economics intends to use the “Digital Economy Kit” developed by Pathways for Prosperity for the implementation of this project. In his intervention, ASE Founder and Professor Leonard Wantchekon noted the unique value that ASE brings to the project, compared to similar studies conducted in South Africa, Malawi, and Ethiopia. In other words, this innovative project aims to assess the opportunities and gaps that the digital economy presents for Benin. It will also analyze the digital sphere’s impact on different sectors such as finance, agriculture, tourism, and education, among others. Along the same lines, Mr. Maximilien Kpodjedo, manager of the President’s digitalization efforts noted that digitalization has been a major component in the government’s action program since 2016. Mr. Gilles Denadi, who represented the technical supervision unit of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Communications, informed the committee of the existence of indicators from studies conducted by his ministry, which can be used for the project. During the meeting, the Embassy of the Netherlands First Secretary and Water and Sanitation Expert, Michel Smet, underlined that this project will contribute to resolving challenges linked to youth employment and thus is important for food security.
Project Implementation
The project ”Digital Economy Kit” is scheduled to last six months, and will serve as a continuation of and building on actions already taken by the Beninese government. ASE, experienced in the field, has already defined three phases of the project, which Professor Wantchekon presented:
- 1st phase-digital readiness evaluation: This phase will assess the current digital landscape in Benin, and the diagnostic will take into account all of the country’s economic sectors.
- 2nd phase-data collection: The plan for this phase is to collect primary data about citizen’s behavior and use of digital resources, along with administrative data, to enable a better understanding of digitalization in Benin. Additionally, the themes of the dialogue will be specified and a preliminary list of participants relevant to each dialogue will be determined.
- 3rd phase-creation of a strategic document: the last phase will consist of the creation of a strategic document which will outline the challenges and opportunities of digitalization in Benin, and the presentation of specific priorities for inclusive growth in the digital age.
The goal of this program will be to develop policies to be implemented by the Beninese government. These activities will enable the creation of a strategic guide outlining both the challenges of the digital sector in Benin and its opportunities.
