Project
Benin Classified Forests Initiative
The Benin Classified Forests Initiative is a program designed to protect Benin’s classified forests while creating sustainable economic opportunities for communities living around them. By strengthening alternative economic activities around Non-Timber forest Products beyond natural wood extraction and forest-based agriculture, specifically shea and honey, the project enables women and youth to increase their incomes while reducing pressure on forest ecosystems.
Context
Benin’s classified forests play a critical role in biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, and water regulation for surrounding communities. However, these ecosystems are under growing threat from deforestation, soil degradation, and overexploitation. Limited access to viable economic alternatives has led many households living near forests to rely on activities such as wood extraction and forest-based agriculture, which accelerate forest loss.
At the same time, global and regional markets present strong opportunities for sustainable forest-based enterprises. Organic shea butter is in high and growing demand in the food industry for Chocolate production and also across a variety of other industries due to its cosmetic and therapeutic properties, while beekeeping offers a high-margin livelihood option. Notably, Benin has secured authorization to export its honey to the European Union, a major milestone that opens the door to high-value international markets. In the long term, harnessing these opportunities can improve livelihoods while positioning local communities as long-term stewards of forest resources.
Opportunity
The project leverages the economic potential of the shea and honey value chains, as well as TechnoServe’s experience as designer and implementer of entrepreneurship programs, to shift livelihoods away from extractive activities and toward sustainable entrepreneurship. By modernizing production practices, improving quality, and strengthening access to markets and finance, the initiative enables rural communities—particularly women and youth—to increase incomes while contributing directly to forest conservation and climate resilience.
The restoration of protected forests has been underway for years, and the project aims to prevent communities from returning to cutting down trees and jeopardizing progress. This approach aligns economic incentives with environmental protection, creating a model where preserving forests becomes a source of income rather than a constraint on livelihoods.
The Strategy
TechnoServe’s strategy focuses on reducing human pressure on classified forests by supporting sustainable businesses in the shea and honey sectors. The intervention is structured around three integrated pillars:
Access to Skills (A2C)
TechnoServe delivers technical training on best practices for shea and honey production, including the use of energy-efficient shea processing technologies to reduce reliance on firewood. These technical modules are complemented by entrepreneurship training based on TechnoServe’s CREATE model, covering financial literacy, personal effectiveness, and business planning.
Access to Markets (A2M)
The project conducts market research to identify quality standards, certification requirements, and buyer demand at national and regional levels. That information is used to provide tailored marketing training to the programe participants and facilitate linkages between producers and buyers, and supports participation in trade fairs and market events, helping entrepreneurs position their products competitively.
Access to Finance (A2F)
To unlock investment, the project deploys two financing mechanisms:
- Direct financing through grants awarded via business plan competitions.
- Indirect financing by facilitating access to credit through partnerships with local financial institutions.
Implementation follows a “Care and Aftercare” approach, combining group-based training with individual coaching, follow-up, and performance monitoring to ensure that entrepreneurs have the means to translate their projects into viable, income-generating enterprises.
Results
By the end, the project aims to:
- Support 400 beneficiaries, including individual entrepreneurs, MSMEs, cooperatives, and semi-industrial units.
- Deliver 28 technical training sessions and 90 entrepreneurship training sessions across communities adjacent to 10 classified forests.
- Financial Inclusion: Facilitate 1.14 billion FCFA (approximately $2 million USD) in financing through project subventions and bank credit.
- Support the opening of at least 20 cooperative bank accounts and the development of marketing strategies for regional and international export markets.
By linking forest conservation with market-based livelihoods, the Benin Classified Forests Initiative demonstrates how sustainable entrepreneurship can protect critical ecosystems while improving incomes. The project offers a scalable model for aligning economic growth, climate resilience, and biodiversity protection, with women and youth at the center of change.
Partners
The Government of Benin: Ministry of Living Environment and Sustainable Development (MCVDD)