Employment in Benin: Thousands of young people with little or no education immersed in SoNaMA, Esmer Academy and BioPhyto thanks to the Azôli program

The Government's Azôli program, implemented by the Agence nationale pour l'Emploi (AnpE), with support from the World Bank through the Projet d'Inclusion des Jeunes (ProDIJ), aims to integrate at least 50,000 young people aged 18 to 30, with little or no education, into salaried employment or self-employment by 2025. By December 31, 2024, nearly 37,000 young people had already benefited from this scheme, which is set to attract a further 13,000 once they have registered on the https://www.sica.anpe.bj platform.

1,200 young people in 4 sectors at SoNaMA

Ouidah-based SoNaMA is a partner in the Azôli scheme. For a period of 06 months, it will be responsible for 1,200 beneficiaries from all 77 communes of Benin. A total of 480 trainees in agricultural machinery operation, 320 in agricultural irrigation, 200 in agricultural machinery mechanics and 200 in the manufacture of agricultural processing equipment are being trained at SoNaMA to meet pressing needs in support of the government's agricultural development policy. The beneficiaries and their supervisors, spread across the various training sites in Ouidah, Kétou, Djougou, Bembéréké and Kandi, are delighted with this government initiative. Angèle Tokin, a beneficiary of the program from the commune of Lokossa (Mono Department), at the controls of an agricultural tractor, declares: "It's like a dream for me. I chose to drive agricultural machinery to show that driving agricultural machinery is not just a job for men. We women can do it too".

1,000 young people in 4 training courses at ESMER ACADEMY

At Esmer Academy, based in Allada, Azôli has also put 1.000 young men and women in 04 trades (renewable energies, electricity, electrical networks and mechatronics) at 3 sites: Abomey-Calavi, Allada and Parakou. These are all young people with little or no education, who have been given the opportunity to enter promising professions. Hard at work under the guidance of the ESMER ACADEMY technical team, they are delighted with this second chance for professional integration. Sylvie Nékima Tori, from Toucountouna (Atacora Department), is one of them, and intends to set up in her commune as a renewable energy technician on completion of the training.

Another 1,000 young people in training at BIOPHYTO

Another wave of 1,000 young men and women will soon be working in 5 different trades at BioPhyto, a company that uses local resources (neem seeds and aromatic plants) to produce and market biopesticides and organic fertilizers for healthy, environmentally-friendly agriculture. The selection tests took place from February 10 to 24, 2025 in each of Benin's departments. The 1,000 young people selected will begin their 6-month immersion training course at the end of March 2025 at the latest. Those who are not selected will continue to benefit from pre-employment sessions led by AnpEThose not selected will continue to benefit from pre-employment sessions run by AnpE teams and local employment promotion units (ULPE), positioned in each commune to offer local services to young people.

Source: www.gouv.bj/