eTReady assessment: UNCTAD welcomes Benin’s strong political will to develop e-commerce
Benin shows a very strong will to promote the digital economy and e-commerce, but the country faces major infrastructure challenges. This is one of the main findings of the rapid eTrade readiness assessment carried out by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The conclusions of this assessment were presented on Thursday 17 September 2020 at a webinar attended by the Minister of Digital Affairs and Digitalisation, Aurélie Adam Soulé Zoumarou, and her colleagues Shadiya Alimatou Assouman, in charge of Industry and Trade, and Aurélien Agbénonci, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.
In her opening remarks, the Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD, Isabelle Durant, welcomed the determination of the Beninese authorities to promote the digital economy. She also highlighted a number of challenges to be met for the development of e-commerce in Benin. These challenges relate in particular to the strategic framework, overall internet penetration and the citizen addressing system.
“The widespread use of e-commerce is a flagship project of President Patrice Talon’s Government Action Programme (PAG) 2016-2021”, noted the Minister of Digital Affairs and Digitalisation, Aurélie Adam Soulé Zoumarou, during the high-level dialogue that preceded the presentation of the main points of the report. In her view, Benin took responsibility well before the UNCTAD assessment by implementing a number of projects and initiatives, including the Digital Code, which devotes a title to e-commerce. She cited as examples of progress the improvement in the internet penetration rate, which now exceeds 52%, the universal electronic communications service, and the forthcoming launch of the National Electronic Payments Platform, which will be a connection hub and nerve centre for electronic payments in Benin. The country has also set up a modern Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to meet the challenge of securing online platforms, accelerated the digitisation of public services and adopted the National Digital Security Strategy, said the Minister of Digital Affairs and Digitalisation, before calling on all stakeholders to support this momentum. Along the same lines, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Shadiya Alimatou Assouman, called on all national stakeholders to engage with the opportunities offered by digital technology. Finally, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Aurélien Agbénonci, said that the Government of Benin is determined to build on the conclusions of this study.
During this high-level dialogue, the Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy in Benin, Birgit Joussen, and the interim Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Benin, Claude Kamenga, praised the Government’s vision and action in the digital sector, while stressing the value of the report.
Conducted by UNCTAD in 2019, the rapid assessment of Benin’s e-commerce readiness reveals a strong political will to develop e-commerce. However, this will is held back by a number of challenges highlighted in the report. The document recommends in particular raising awareness of the Digital Code, developing digital skills, supporting startups and defining a national e-commerce strategy. The establishment of a national electronic payments platform, the mapping of infrastructure needs, the strengthening of public-private partnerships in the digital sector, the extension of the digital addressing system and the interoperability of financial services also feature prominently in the action matrix suggested by the report.