• Benin's ABRI inaugurated its Scientific Council to guide research priorities
  

• Council includes nine global experts, meets thrice yearly to advise leadership
  

• Move aims to boost innovation amid low awareness and structural challenges
  

Benin’s research and innovation agency , ABRI, took a step toward full operation on Monday, November 17, by inaugurating its Scientific Council in Cotonou. The council will act as the agency’s main advisory body on scientific priorities.

ABRI, Agence béninoise de la recherche et de l’innovation, said the council brings together nine internationally recognized experts covering the disciplines represented in its five thematic institutes. It will meet at least three times a year, including one in-person meeting, to review research proposals, endorse strategic priorities, and advise the director general on funding calls and scientific reports from affiliated laboratories.

“This marks our shift into implementation. From here on, our work will be driven by excellence, ethics, and competitiveness,” said Director General Nourou Yorou.

Board Chairman Stanislas Tomavo described the creation of the council as “a decisive step for national research policy, which is central to the Government Action Plan (PAG).”

Representing the Ministry, Lidwine Gnansounou called the council “a key technical and strategic body” for addressing the country’s development challenges.

The move comes as Benin works to strengthen coordination in the research sector and position innovation as a lever for economic growth. Awareness, however, remains low. A 2023 survey by the Observatory of Trade, Industry and Services (OCIS) found that 88% of participating businesses were unaware of the government’s innovation policy, while 83% did not know about the institutions created to support it.

Benin also continues to face structural scientific constraints. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, the country’s share of knowledge-intensive employment remained low, at about 4.6% in 2022.

Félicien Houindo Lokossou