Benin

Benin is one of the most stable democracies in all of Africa. But many people here live in extreme poverty, and only a minority can read and write. Helvetas focuses its efforts in Benin on education and occupational integration — especially for young people — and on the supply of clean drinking water and a better sanitary infrastructure.

Capital

Porto-Novo
Area

114,763 km²
Poverty rate*

53% of the population live under the poverty line of $1.90 per day
UN DEVELOPMENT INDEX*

Rank: 166 out of 193
Population

11,167,000
People supported per year

27,069
Thematic focus

Private Sector Development
WASH & Water Governance
Education and Vocational Skills

* Source: UN Data

Helvetas has been active in Benin since 1995. This West African republic is relatively politically stable. And yet it has a lot of catching up to do in the areas of education and poverty reduction: roughly a third of the population lives in extreme poverty. Almost 60% of the adult population cannot read or write. Helvetas seeks to improve the quality of basic education and enable children who were previously excluded, or had to leave school early, to go (back) to school.

Developing youth entrepreneurship

Helvetas is committed to supporting young people by facilitating self-entrepreneurship and income generation for people living in rural areas. For several years, young women and men have been receiving technical training and entrepreneurial coaching, enabling them to improve the performance of their small businesses. These young people, who process agricultural products or raise poultry, accumulate enough know-how to advise other young people in the area. Based on this model, thousands of young people benefit from the knowledge of their peers, and a network of advice and sales has been set up in the remote regions of northern Benin.