🇧🇯💼 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 : le Bénin séduit les investisseurs au Kenya avec l’ambition GDIZ

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:01]Good morning. Morning.

[00:00:03]From as early as I can remember, I always thought and believed that my life had to serve a greater purpose than myself.

[00:00:11]Growing up in Benin, I was aware of its potential, but also of the many challenges holding it back.

[00:00:19]I became interested in finance, not just for the numbers, but because of what finance can enable.

[00:00:26]Structure, long-term vision, and the ability to transform ideas into reality.

[00:00:33]My journey took me overseas to the US, where I had the opportunity to work for major financial institution, such as Bank of America and the US Treasury, and where I was exposed to the global financial system.

[00:00:50]But even then, I kept an eye on Benin.

[00:00:54]I was observing, learning, and thinking about how to contribute.

[00:00:59]But then, the real shift came in 2016 when I decided to move from preparation into action.

[00:01:07]The newly elected president of Benin, President Talon, gave me the opportunity to join his team to work on improving Benin's business climate, to work Benin more attractive for investors. Then in 2021, I was entrusted to lead one of the most important project in the country, the development of the special economic zone of Glo-Djigbé, GDIZ. It is a project designed to accelerate industrialization, to create jobs, and to change Benin's economy.

[00:01:39]At some point, commitment becomes a choice. It is not about what you do, but it is about where you choose to do it.

[00:01:49]Over to you, Maurice. Thank you so much, Letondji.

[00:01:53]Today, let's talk about choices. I'm not standing here only as the managing director of CDC Benin. I'm standing here as Marie Odile Sossou, a proud Beninese woman that decided, like Letondji, to come back to come back to my native country Benin and to stay. To stay in Benin and to stay in Africa.

[00:02:17]I did my studies in France and I started my professional career in French banking groups. I spent over 12 years before deciding with my husband, who is also Beninese, to come back to our country.

[00:02:33]In 2017, after the death of my father, we returned to our roots and this is where I really found my purpose.

[00:02:42]I started my professional journey in Benin in 2017 serving the public sector.

[00:02:50]As the technical advisor to the senior minister of economy and finance, who is now the newly elected president of Benin, I was in charge of the sovereign rating and the first international financing and I spent three amazing years in this position.

[00:03:08]And after that, I moved to West African I moved to West African Development Bank, sorry, for more three years as the chief of staff to the president of this institution, taking care of the financing of our West African region.

[00:03:27]In 2023, I came back to my country to respond to the call of my government to take the lead of CDC Benin. And throughout my journey, I acquired a strong conviction, the conviction that our country definitely needs long-term and patient capital to be developed and to transform. This is exactly the mandate of CDC Benin. But before talking about what we are doing in this institution, let's go back to Letondji. Thank you.

[00:04:01]When we look at the world today, we see a rapid mutation happening everywhere.

[00:04:06]We are moving from a unicentral world to a multipolar world.

[00:04:10]Global supply chains are shifting.

[00:04:13]Economic power is being rebalanced.

[00:04:15]Africa is becoming part of the solution.

[00:04:18]Benin is crafting its own path toward development. In Benin, over the past few years, we have been building up our economy. And as part of that build-up, we have fully developed the first phase of our industrial zone, Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone GDIZ, which is one of the largest special economic zone in Africa, 1,640 ha.

[00:04:42]Over 20 factories are now in operation.

[00:04:45]More than 25,000 jobs have been created.

[00:04:49]This is what transformation look like.

[00:04:52]But transformation does not come without obstacle.

[00:04:55]It must be approached with long-term perspective. Every day, we face the high cost of energy, electricity, and gas.

[00:05:05]We have limited access to competitive financing, whether it's long-term capital, uh working capital, or capex.

[00:05:13]But all these challenges limit our ability to compete globally.

[00:05:20]So, what did we do about these challenges? We decided to take matters into our own hands. We are now investing to create our own infrastructure. We are creating energy infrastructure, logistic infrastructure, and industrial infrastructure, because we believe that industrialization requires execution, coordination, and long-term vision, and most of all, capital.

[00:05:45]Thank you, Letondji. This is where capital becomes critical. You may know that our local ecosystems are driven by short-term short-term vision, short-term capitals, and short-term expectations.

[00:05:59]But our countries in Africa definitely need long-term vision.

[00:06:04]Patience, stability, and long-term commitment. And this is why the government of Benin made a very strategic decision by creating CDC Benin in 2018.

[00:06:19]Our mandate is clear. We act as the public sovereign wealth fund of Benin.

[00:06:25]We collect long-term savings and resources and invest them in equity, in public and private projects that are strategic for the government action plan and mainly in the industrial in the industrial zones, sorry.

[00:06:43]We sustain the vision of the government to transform our raw commodities. You may know that Benin is the first producer of the continent. We also produce raw cashew nuts. And we decided to invest massively with the local private sector and international investors like you in the construction of plants. Plants that are now transforming around 13% of our raw cotton production and around 50% of our raw cashew nut production that are exported.

[00:07:23]But beyond all these figures, I would like you to keep in mind that investment all these investments allow the country to create jobs. And jobs change young people life in Benin because we offer them stability. We offer them new skills.

[00:07:44]And this is exactly what long-term capital does. It changes life. So, we are very clear with what we aim to ask you today.

[00:07:55]We want to attract investors and partners like you in our country, in Benin. Come and invest. CDC Benin is there to de-risk your project with you and to make your journey, your investment successful and at scale. Over to you. As mentioned by Marie's, industrialization can create impact.

[00:08:18]And if you believe in industrialization, you believe in transformation. If you believe in transformation, you must think at scale.

[00:08:26]Our ambition in Benin is to process 100% of our cotton locally and to create integrated industrial ecosystem. This represents billions of dollars in terms of investment. Hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created and there will be a structural shift in our economy. But this is not some sort of future vision.

[00:08:50]Projects are already running and value is being created. What we need now is scale, speed and alignment.

[00:09:00]And to conclude, our call to action to you is very clear.

[00:09:04]Benin is the country of opportunities for all of you. So, please come. The whole ecosystem is ready, ready to welcome you, ready to assist you and to make your investment journey successful in our country.

[00:09:18]It is no longer about why invest.

[00:09:22]It is about how fast are you ready to move to invest in Benin.

[00:09:28]Let's join force together.

[00:09:30]Choose Benin. Let's make impact and thrive together. Thank you. Thank you.