Faced with office closures in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Benin has made it possible for entrepreneurs to create their company online.

The online single window, monentreprise.bj, can be accessed from the country or abroad and allows a company to be created within two hours. Prior to this the process took one day and involved several physical visits to APIEx, Benin’s investment and export agency.

This development means that despite the economic challenges faced by the economy of Benin from the pandemic, and the unprecedented closure of government offices, 138 new businesses were created in the first week of operations, from 16 to 22 March.

The online system also ensures the new business is automatically compliant with trade, tax, social security and department of labour obligations, saving time and additional visits to government departments. Business owners receive all their certificates in digital format.

“This is a big step forward, Benin is transforming,” said Laurent Gangbès, director-general of APIEx, which is behind the new initiative. “Whether you are in Benin or abroad, the constraint of travelling to create your business has been removed.”

This ground-breaking innovation was born of a long-standing partnership between Benin and UNCTAD.

"Goal is to develop new - or extend or adapt existing - eGovernment systems that enable SMEs to navigate, apply online for and rapidly benefit from the new or revamped relief measures such as tax deferrals schemes, subsidies, loans set up by Government and its partners to kickstart the economy as the Covid 19 pandemic loosens its grip on the economy.

After the unprecedented downturn that has followed the Covid19 pandemic, governments must unleash innovative solutions to ensure SMEs are able to contribute to and benefit from the surge of growth that is expected during the recovery phase.

This is especially important in developing countries who are more vulnerable to external shocks and who cannot provide the kind of financial stimulus to weather the storm that advanced economies can.

It is furthermore expected that Governments will be highly receptive to rolling out regulatory reforms to remove traditional barriers to market entry, namely for SMEs operating in the informal sector. Opportunities to simplify should be harnessed to stimulate more inclusive growth in the short, mid and long term."

Agence de Promotion des Investissements et des Exportations du Benin (APIEx) as implementing partner and UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as technical assistance provider.