“History will judge less what Wadagni has managed than what he has dared to build.”

Benin has displayed economic performances praised by international institutions for several years. Sustained growth, controlled inflation, contained budget deficit, improved financial credibility of the country: macroeconomic indicators reflect a trajectory considered solid. But for Professor Théophile Thomas Azomahou, development economist, researcher at CNRS and the University Clermont Auvergne, this momentum must not only be preserved. It must be transformed into genuine structural change.

In an interview about consolidating Benin’s economic achievements, the academic urges the new authorities to aim higher. Youth employment, economic diversification, budget discipline, energy sovereignty, innovation, research, and regional integration are among the major priorities he identifies. In his view, the challenge of the new political cycle opened with Romuald Wadagni’s rise to power will not only be to manage the gains but to dare to build a more productive, inclusive, and sovereign economy.

1. Hello Professor, it’s a pleasure to welcome you here. You are part of the Beninese diaspora. You are a Development Economist, Professor at the University Clermont Auvergne, and researcher at CERDI (Center for Studies and Research on International Development), as well as at CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research, France). Tell us a bit about yourself. What is your academic and professional background?

Hello, thank you for your invitation.

You are right, I have been a Beninese in the diaspora for about 35 years. But I return regularly to Benin.

I am a university professor in economic sciences at the University Clermont Auvergne, and a researcher at CERDI and CNRS. Previously, I held the position of Executive Director of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) in Nairobi (Kenya), where I was also Director of Training and Director of Research from 2001 to 2004. Additionally, I was a senior researcher at the United Nations from 2008 to 2018, in Maastricht (Netherlands), where I led the research group on ” Economic Development, Innovation, Governance and Institutions “. During this time at the United Nations, I also held the chair of development economics at the School of Business and Economics (SBE) of Maastricht University from 2010 to 2020.

I have also been a consultant for international organizations such as UNDP, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank.

I hold a PhD in economic sciences from the University of Strasbourg (France) and completed an executive training titled “A Cutting Edge of Development Thinking” at the Harvard Kennedy School (United States). I would say that my international career has allowed me to gain significant experience in international cooperation and scientific diplomacy.

• So you are an expert in development. And I would like us to discuss this at length. Benin is often cited as a good example in terms of economic reforms. What are the next challenges our country will face?

Benin has indeed shown remarkable performance: growth of 7.5% in 2024, its highest level since 1990, and 8.1% in 2025 according to the latest World Bank estimates. The IMF forecasts more than 7% in 2026. Inflation has remained moderate, around remained moderate, at around 1.1% in 2025, and the budget deficit would have returned to around 2.9% of GDP.

All this reflects a strong macroeconomic performance. But the real challenge is to move from sustained growth to a lasting structural transformation.

The priorities are of five kinds:

1. The first priority is to create more productive jobs, especially for young people. Growth at 7% is impressive, but it must translate into formal, better-paid, and more stable jobs.

The top priority must be the productive employment of young people. Benin must not be content with growth driven by major works and urban services. It needs growth that transforms productive structures: modernized agriculture, agro-industry, textiles, logistics, digital technology, energy, light industry, financial services, and high value-added services.

• The second priority is to diversify the economy. Benin cannot depend excessively on cotton, transit trade, or informal services. Agro-industry, textiles, logistics, digital technology, and high value-added services must be accelerated. In other words, in creating added value, it is not quantity that matters, but quality, know-how, and mobilized intelligence.
• Regarding the third priority, budgetary discipline must be maintained. Public debt remains to be monitored: it was around 54% of GDP at the end of 2024 according to the IMF, and about 56.8% of GDP in 2025 according to the World Bank.

For African economies, beyond 55–60% of GDP, risk increases because tax revenues are often low (around 13–15% of GDP on average in West Africa), external shocks (commodity prices, interest rates, exchange rates) are frequent, and market access can deteriorate rapidly. So 60% is not a “wall,” but a high-risk zone. This means that Benin is today close to the warning threshold, but not yet in a crisis zone.

Moreover, when looking at the composition of Benin’s debt today, about 87% of Benin’s debt is held by foreign creditors. This shows that the country has access to international financing, but also that it remains dependent on external sources, which requires very careful management and a gradual rebalancing towards more domestic debt.

• As a fourth priority, energy self-sufficiency must be ensured : Benin will not industrialize with an energy supply that is unreliable, expensive, and dependent on external sources. An energy shock is needed.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reminds that Benin still depends on a significant share of electricity imports, notably from Nigeria and Ghana, and that network reliability remains a challenge for households and businesses. The IEA’s energy profile also highlights that electricity accounts for only a small share of final energy consumption, while imports and thermal production from imported gas remain significant. It is therefore time to dare a radical energy strategy.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is observing growing interest in nuclear energy in more than 20 African countries, particularly regarding small modular reactors. However, the IAEA emphasizes essential conditions: regulatory framework, independent safety authority, financing, skills, regional cooperation, and technical support.

The real issue is strategic: if Benin wants to industrialize, attract data centers, produce green hydrogen, develop a modern textile industry, develop high-speed rail transport, process its agricultural products, become a logistics hub, and potentially become a net energy exporter, it will need abundant, stable, low-carbon, and competitive energy.

• And the fifth priority will be to make growth more inclusive. The World Bank indicates that poverty declined from 33.2% in 2023 to 31% in 2024, a decrease of 2.2 points. This is encouraging. But other indicators highlight the scale of the challenge: according to the World Bank’s poverty profile, the national poverty rate remains around 36.2%, and poverty measured at $3 per day reaches about 27.2%. Benin’s growth is therefore real, but it must become more inclusive.

• What do you propose to meet these challenges?

Regarding the first challenge (creating productive jobs for young people): I propose creating a National Pact for 500,000 productive jobs over ten years, supported by regional transformation hubs. Each department should have a portfolio of priority sectors: cotton-textile, cashew, pineapple, soybean, maize, logistics, tourism, digital economy, renewable energies. The state must not only build but organize productive ecosystems.

As for the economic diversification, the key word is value creation. This systematically involves processing raw materials before export. No country has developed by exporting only raw materials. When you create value by processing a product or service, you add value and thus assign a price to that good. By assigning a price, you become competitive in the regional or international market, and you count in trade.

Regarding debt, I propose establishing a Beninese golden budget rule. No significant new borrowing should be authorized without an ex ante evaluation of its economic, social, and climate returns. Each major debt-financed project should answer three questions:

• How much growth or productivity does it generate?
• How many direct and indirect jobs does it create?
• What future repayment capacity does it create?

The energy challenge is fundamental. Benin must aim for energy self-sufficiency and even become a net energy exporter in the long term. I propose that Benin officially open the civil nuclear dossier, not to build a conventional plant tomorrow morning, but to position itself now on medium-power reactors, targeting 2026-2040. Intermediate (medium-power) plants produce between 400 and 900 MW.

Benin must not announce a nuclear plant for show. It must create a National Commission for Civil Nuclear Energy and Advanced Technologies, train nuclear physics engineers, sign university agreements, work with the IAEA, assess costs, risks, safety requirements, and regional options. In a word: Benin must prepare now to deploy these nuclear plants in the medium term.

The ultimate goal of all this is to improve living conditions by making growth more inclusive. Benin has succeeded in stabilization and reforms. The next challenge is to transform this good macroeconomy into jobs, incomes, and opportunities for young people.

• You have just spoken about these five challenges and made proposals. But as you know, Benin is also in a geographic space. How can Benin benefit from its strategic geographic position in West Africa?

Benin has a major asset: its position between Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, and the hinterland countries. The Port of Cotonou is a strategic asset. In 2024, it handled approximately 9.67 million tons of goods, compared to 9.57 million in 2023.

But a geographical advantage only becomes an economic advantage if it is transformed into logistical competitiveness.

Three levers are essential:

1. Reducing logistical costs : port transit times, customs delays, quality of road corridors, digitization of procedures.
2. Transforming instead of just transiting : it is not enough for goods to pass through Benin; more local value must be created, for example through agro-food processing, textiles, packaging, cold logistics, modern warehouses.

To this end, I propose creating a “Benin Gulf Transformation Free Zone” around the port, with a clear objective: in ten years, at least 40% of port flows related to agricultural and industrial products must result in local processing or advanced logistical services.

This means refrigerated warehouses, packaging, food processing, textiles, light assembly, trade financial services, insurance, logistics data, quality certification, health standards, digital export platforms.

A country does not enrich itself merely by passing through others’ goods. It enriches itself by capturing added value. The real challenge is to move: from a transit country to a regional economic hub with high added value. It is about creating a lot of wealth with few material resources, thanks to knowledge, technology, or expertise.

• Securing regional relations : the closure of the border with Niger and regional tensions have shown the vulnerability of the transit model. Benin must therefore diversify its outlets and strengthen regional economic diplomacy.

Benin must not only be a transit country; it must become a platform for transformation, logistical services, and regional added value.

• Let us now talk about the lessons Benin can draw from the development history of rich countries. These countries have followed long and often painful trajectories. Must Benin necessarily repeat these steps, or can it break free from them?

No! We cannot take the same path because development is a very long process. We must build on what has been done to accelerate our development. We will not reinvent the wheel, but we must pedal faster. This is called “ leapfrogging ».

The “ leapfrogging ” is the ability for a country to skip certain development stages by directly adopting more advanced modern technologies. Several African countries have done this with mobile phones and mobile payments. Benin must now define its own technological leaps.

• Can you give concrete examples of desirable technological leaps for Benin?

Four leaps are promising for our country:

First leap : the energy leap, with massive solar, storage, interconnections, energy efficiency, and serious preparation for new generation civil nuclear power.

Second leap : the digital agricultural leap. Every farmer should be able to access weather forecasts, market prices, technical advice, agricultural insurance, credit, and buyers by phone. Benin can become an African laboratory for connected agriculture.

Third leap : the digital tax leap. Tax digitalization must broaden the tax base without crushing small operators. The goal must be clear: tax better, not just tax more.

Fourth leap : the university and scientific leap. No country develops sustainably without research, data, and skills. Improving human capital is essential for Benin’s sustainable development. It requires reforming the education system to better align training with labor market needs, strengthening technical and vocational education, promoting work-study programs, and developing research and innovation. In this dynamic, the diaspora can play a key role in building a knowledge-based economy through the creation of universities and research centers capable of training innovators and entrepreneurs to support the country’s economic transformation. Benin should also create an independent National Institute for Public Policy Evaluation, capable of assessing social programs, educational policies, public investments, and agricultural policies. And why not, a National Center for Scientific Research.

This is a key point in my own journey: modern development economics relies on data, impact evaluation, econometrics, evidence-based policies, and dialogue between research and public decision-making.

• Let’s return to the first leap: civil nuclear power. Which main economic sectors would likely benefit from this technological leap?

Ultimately, the issue of civil nuclear power should not be approached solely from an energy perspective. That would be a mistaken viewpoint. For a country like Benin, the challenge is not simply to produce more electricity; it is to understand how abundant, stable, competitive, and low-carbon energy could become a true lever for structural transformation. In this perspective, the long-term adoption of next-generation civil nuclear technologies — notably small modular reactors (SMRs) or intermediate reactors — could be conceived as a structuring technological leap, a genuine ” leapfrogging” capable of profoundly reshaping Benin’s economy.

The first sector to directly benefit from such a transformation would beindustrialization. One of the major obstacles to manufacturing development in Africa remains the high cost and instability of electricity. No economy can sustainably industrialize its productive apparatus with scarce, intermittent, or excessively expensive energy. A more robust energy capacity would allow Benin to accelerate the local processing of its agricultural resources and raw materials. Cotton could feed a genuine integrated textile sector — spinning, weaving, garment making — instead of being mainly exported in raw form. Similarly, the cashew, soybean, pineapple, maize, and cashew sectors could evolve towards more advanced industrial processing. In other words, Benin could gradually shift from a raw material export economy to a production and processing economy with higher added value.

The Port of Cotonou would also be one of the major beneficiaries of such a transformation. Today, it already constitutes the logistical heart of Benin’s economy and a strategic gateway for the West African hinterland. But tomorrow, with abundant and stable energy, it could change scale. The port would no longer be just a transit space; it could become a true next-generation logistical and industrial hub. This would open the way for the establishment of energy-intensive industrial zones, large-capacity refrigerated warehouses, automated supply chains, smart storage platforms, robotic handling, and digitized port services. In an ambitious but credible long-term vision, Cotonou could become for West Africa what Rotterdam or Singapore represent in other geoeconomic spaces: a high-performance logistics center linked to industrial transformation.

One of the most strategic sectors would undoubtedly be digital technology and artificial intelligence. We are entering a global economy where economic power increasingly depends on the ability to store, process, secure, and exploit data. However, data centers, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence infrastructures are extremely energy-intensive. Server cooling, intensive computing, cybersecurity, sovereign digital platforms, and massive data storage require continuous and reliable electricity. A long-term energy strategy would allow Benin to position itself as a a West African hub of digital sovereignty, capable of hosting high-performance computing centers, regional cloud infrastructures, cybersecurity platforms, and ecosystems related to artificial intelligence applied to agriculture, port logistics, health, finance, and public administration. The challenge of the 21st century will not only be access to energy but mastering energy in the service of data.

• Do you see other sectors benefiting from such an energy leap?

This dynamic could also transform the transportsector. Abundant and stable energy opens the possibility of massive electrification of mobility. In the long term, Benin could consider developing a modern, electrified railway network connecting Cotonou to Parakou, then to Niger and, more broadly, to the Sahel corridors. Even more ambitiously, within a regional integration framework, projects for high-speed trains or high-performance rail corridors linking Benin to Nigeria, Togo, or Ghana could become structuring infrastructures for the regional economy. This is not about projecting an unrealistic short-term “Beninese TGV,” but about thinking today about the energy and railway infrastructures that will support tomorrow’s economic integration. Electrification of buses, supply chains, and freight transport would also be part of this transition.

But civil nuclear power, or more broadly advanced energy technologies, would not only be an industrial project. They would also be a tremendous accelerator of human capital and scientific transformation. No ambitious technological program can exist without skills. Benin would then have the opportunity to create new strategic, high-level fields: nuclear engineering, applied physics, energy engineering, thermodynamics, advanced materials, mathematical modeling, artificial intelligence, industrial robotics, cybersecurity, predictive maintenance, and scientific computing. This could justify the creation of a Beninese Institute of Advanced Technologies, a true regional center of excellence dedicated to energy, digital technology, high-performance computing, applied sciences, and emerging technologies. Such a project would reposition Benin not only as a consumer of technologies but as a producer of skills and knowledge.

The health sector would also be concerned. Civil nuclear power is not only used to produce electricity. It also opens the way to nuclear medicine: radiotherapy, advanced imaging, medical isotopes, treatment of certain cancers, precision medicine. In a region where access to these technologies remains limited, Benin could develop more autonomous medical capacities and reduce its dependence on specialized external care.

Theagriculturesector, which remains one of the pillars of Benin’s economy, could also experience a major qualitative leap. More reliable energy, combined with artificial intelligence and advanced computing, would enable the development of smart irrigation, cold chains, secure storage of harvests, agricultural drones, precision sensors, climate forecasting models, and digital platforms connecting producers, markets, and agricultural finance. The energy leapfrogging could thus support an agricultural leapfrogging .

In the longer term, emerging sectors today could become realistic: green hydrogen, batteries, strategic materials, advanced refining, specialized metallurgy, and even industrial water treatment and desalination. All these sectors require abundant and competitive energy.

But beyond economic sectors, perhaps the greatest benefit would be institutional and geopoliticalAn advanced energy technology program requires a country to build strong institutions, credible regulatory agencies, a rigorous scientific culture, structured international cooperation, and a long-term vision. In this sense, nuclear power often acts as an accelerator of state capacity, technological discipline, and sovereignty.

The real debate, ultimately, is not whether Benin should build a nuclear power plant tomorrow. That would be reductive. The real debate is deeper: Does Benin want to remain a consumer of technologies designed elsewhere, or does it want to gradually become a producer of technological, scientific, and industrial capabilities?

Because the challenge of the next economic cycle will not only be to produce more electricity. It will be to know how to use energy to scale up, industrialize, digitize, train, innovate, and write a more ambitious development trajectory. This is where the true meaning of leapfrogging.

• We have just discussed the stakes for Benin. But other African countries also face challenges. What are the most promising growth drivers for Africa today?

I see six major drivers.

First driver: human capital

Education, health, technical and vocational training are the foundations. Without human capital, there is no innovation, no productivity, no industrialization.

Second driver: energy

Africa cannot industrialize with energy that is scarce, expensive, or unstable. Access to electricity is a direct factor of competitiveness.

Third driver: agro-industry

Africa has land, a young population, and expanding food markets. The challenge is to move from subsistence agriculture to agro-food processing.

Fourth driver: digital technology & AI

Mobile payments, agricultural platforms, e-commerce, digital identification, public data: digital technology can reduce transaction costs and improve inclusion.

Fifth driver: regional integration

AfCFTA can create a larger continental market, but it must be accompanied by infrastructure, common standards, and trade facilitation.

Sixth driver: institutions

The quality of governance, legal security, fiscal transparency, and administrative capacity determine the effectiveness of the other drivers.

1. You have a strong foundation in higher education and research. Both technological leaps and the growth drivers you just mentioned rely on innovation and research: for example, human capital regarding the first growth driver. In your view, what roles should higher education and research play in African countries?

Higher education and research must become central instruments of economic transformation.

Today, many African countries still have relatively low access rates to higher education. In Benin, for example, the gross enrollment rate in higher education was around 10.2% in 2022, according to World Bank data cited by CEIC.

The role of the university is threefold.

Firstly: train the skills that the economy needs

More skills are needed in applied economics, statistics, data science, engineering, energy, agriculture, public health, logistics, and artificial intelligence.

Secondly: produce data and evaluations

Public policies must be evaluated. Which programs work? For whom? At what cost? With what impact? This is essential to avoid wasting public resources.

Thirdly: build bridges with the private sector and the state

Universities must not be isolated. They must work with ministries, businesses, local authorities, development banks, and international organizations.

An economy cannot transform sustainably without strong universities, quality research, and reliable data to guide public policies.

I must add a fourth essential role, which is that of knowledge creation.

1. Let us turn to the international scene: the consequences of the situation in the Middle East. What is the impact of this conflict on African economies?

The crisis in the Middle East is not just a regional crisis. It has become a global geoeconomic shock because it affects three vital nodes of the international economy: energy, maritime routes, and financial expectations.

For Africa, the impact comes through four main channels.

First, the energy channel. A sustained tension in the Middle East drives up the prices of oil, gas, diesel, and freight. Many African countries are net importers of refined fuels. Diesel is particularly strategic: it powers transport, agriculture, construction sites, generators, and part of logistics. A rise in diesel prices therefore quickly leads to a generalized increase in production costs. Reuters highlights that countries dependent on diesel imports are especially exposed to the current shocks on refined fuels.

Next, the maritime channel. Tensions in the Red Sea and around the routes linking Asia, Europe, and Africa disrupt global trade. The IMF already indicated that at the beginning of 2024, trade passing through the Suez Canal had dropped by about 50% year-on-year, while many ships were bypassing Africa via the Cape of Good Hope. The World Bank also estimates that ports in the Red Sea and Gulf recorded an average decline in trade volumes of about 8% between November 2023 and October 2024 compared to the previous period.

Third channel: imported inflation. When energy, fertilizers, maritime transport, and insurance costs rise, food and industrial prices increase. The World Bank notes that, for Benin, inflation had slowed to 1.1% in 2025, but it could rise again due to the increase in global fuel prices.

Fourth channel: the public finances and the debt . African states then face a dilemma: absorb part of the shock through subsidies, risking worsening deficits, or let prices rise, risking social tensions. In both cases, the budgetary margin shrinks.

1. What are the consequences of this Middle East crisis on the Beninese economy?

For Benin, the impact is real but mainly indirect. The country is not at the heart of the conflict, but it suffers its effects through prices, imports, maritime transport, and energy.

Benin has shown strong economic performance: growth of 7.5% in 2024 and 8.1% in 2025, with public debt around 56.8% of GDP and a deficit reduced to 2.9% of GDP. But the World Bank explicitly identifies the Middle East conflict as one of the major downside risks for the Beninese economy.

The first risk is that of fuel. Benin largely depends on imports of refined petroleum products, directly or indirectly via regional markets. Any sustained increase in oil or diesel prices passes through to transport, food prices, construction costs, and business margins.

The second risk is that of the Port of Cotonou. An increase in maritime freight and insurance raises import costs, reduces logistical competitiveness, and may affect the port’s regional role.

The third risk is that of poverty. Even with robust growth, poverty remains high. The World Bank estimates that it remains around 40,1% according to the measure used in its latest macroeconomic framework. A shock to food or energy prices first affects low-income households.

1. What strategies should Benin adopt in this context?

The first strategy is energy. Benin must accelerate its energy sovereignty: solar, storage, regional interconnections, energy efficiency, gas security, and long-term reflection on advanced technologies, including SMRs or intermediate reactors. The message is simple: the less a country depends on imported fuels, the more it resists geopolitical crises.

The second strategy is food-related. It is necessary to produce, store, and process more locally. This requires cold chains, digital agricultural platforms, strategic food reserves, and an agro-industry capable of reducing dependence on imports.

The third strategy is logistical. The Port of Cotonou must become more than a transit port: a hub for processing, storage, certification, cold logistics, and regional services. The more value Benin creates around trade flows, the less it passively suffers from global trade shocks.

The fourth strategy is budgetary. It is necessary to preserve room for maneuver: avoid costly generalized subsidies, prioritize targeted support to vulnerable households and strategic sectors, and continue mobilizing domestic revenues.

The fifth strategy is diplomatic. Benin must diversify its partnerships: Europe, Gulf countries, China, India, African institutions, World Bank, AfDB. In a fragmented world, economic diplomacy becomes insurance against shocks.

For Benin, the right response is therefore not only cyclical. It is structural: produce more locally, import less of what is strategic, secure energy, process more, protect the most vulnerable, and build a more agile economic diplomacy.

The crisis in the Middle East reminds us of a fundamental truth: a country’s economic sovereignty is measured by its ability to absorb shocks it does not control.

1. Conclusion: Do you have a final word? A message to His Excellency President Romuald Wadagni?

First, I would like to sincerely congratulate him on his election to the highest office. I wish that God grants him wisdom, strength, and health to carry out this demanding mission, in service of the Beninese people and the future of our nation.

Mr. President, you are taking office at a unique moment in our history. You have been given a rare mandate: the trust of a people at a pivotal time, when achievements are real but expectations are immense. You inherit a more stable country, a more credible economy, strengthened institutions, and an international visibility that Benin has patiently built over the past decade — and you yourself have contributed to this trajectory.

But the history of nations teaches us that it is not enough to preserve achievements; one must know how to transform them into a collective destiny.

You now have exceptional assets: strong political legitimacy, recognized economic credibility, a dynamic youth, a strategic geographical position, and above all, a window of opportunity that few African leaders have had the privilege to find upon taking office. This conjunction is rare. It calls for vision, courage, and ambition worthy of history.

Benin can aim much higher.

It can become an intelligent economic power, capable of transforming its resources rather than exporting them raw. It can become a more energy-sovereign country, prepared for the industrial and technological challenges of the 21st century. It can build an industrially agile economy, based on innovation, logistics, digital technology, and added value. Above all, it can become a socially inclusive and scientifically equipped nation, where growth translates into opportunities, jobs, knowledge, and dignity for all.

West Africa needs examples. It needs countries that demonstrate that good governance not only leads to stability but can also lead to structural transformation, economic sovereignty, and sustainable prosperity.

Benin can be that country.

Mr. President, history will judge less what you have administered than what you have dared to build. It will remember your ability to make this phase of consolidation a new stage of national transformation.

This moment is important for Benin.

This moment can be that of a new course.

And this moment can be yours.

Thank you, Professor AZOMAHOU