From darkness to light: Local bakeries and homes flourish under Benin’s new urban electricity project

The bustling sound of dough kneading fills the air at Pierre Gbenou Tito Dossou’s bakery in Okoun-Sèmè, Benin, as the once energy-starved business now hums along smoothly. Orders for bread, croissants, and chocolate pastries are met on time, a feat Dossou attributes to a newly stable power supply.

“I struggled with electricity shortages for over a decade,” Dossou explains, reflecting on the bakery’s early years. “Generators didn’t work, and I couldn’t connect to the grid because our area was too remote. I had to rely on weak power from neighboring connections.” His fortunes changed last year (2023) when new pylons and a large transformer brought reliable electricity to his district.

“I felt like I won the lottery,” Dossou said with a smile. The new infrastructure brought streetlights, safer streets, and individual electric meters. “Since then, our work has been seamless. And even burglars have reduced,” he adds.

Other residents like Moussa Moudachirou, who is in his early 30s, have also experienced a positive shift. “Before, we had to borrow electricity from neighbors, but now we’re connected to our own meter at home,” he says. Now, with his own digital and economical meter, his family’s expenses have halved. “We now last three weeks on a 5,000 FCFA top-up card,” Moudachirou explains, expressing gratitude to the project’s donors while urging them to extend the benefits to others.

The Dossou and Moudachirou families are some of the beneficiaries of Benin’s Sub-Transmission and Distribution System Restructuring and Extension Project, which aims to improve electricity access in the West African country. The project is funded by the African Development Fund, the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group, which provided a $9.08 million loan and a $7.28 million grant, alongside a $17.79 million loan from the French Development Agency. The Benin government contributed $3.68 million.

Launched in 2018 and slated for completion in late 2025, the project is set to increase access to electricity across Benin’s major cities and secondary towns, such as Abomey, Bohicon and Lokossa. In addition to expanding access, the project aims to improve the quality of the electricity supply and cut energy waste. In 2015, it was estimated that the Electricity Corporation of Benin’s networks were losing 23 percent of their energy.

For many like Mouniratou Tiamiou, who once endured frequent power cuts, life has vastly improved. “Brownouts damaged our appliances, and burglars took advantage of the darkness. But since the project lit up the area, we have had no problems,” she says, thankful for the newfound security and stability the electricity project has brought to her home.

As Okoun-Seme’s businesses thrive and homes become more secure, the project is proving to be a vital boost for Benin’s energy landscape.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is the premier multilateral financing institution dedicated to Africa’s development. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NSF). The AfDB has a field presence in 41 African countries, with an external office in Japan, and contributes to the economic development and social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org