Marcel Zounon, UNESCO-accredited consultant on cultural heritage and President of the NGO TOWARA-BENIN, holds a postgraduate diploma in Finance and Management Control from the University of Abomey-Calavi (2007).

At a time when the global economy is being reshaped by intangible assets and authenticity, Bénin stands at a crossroads. As the cradle of Vodoun, a land of ancient kingdoms, of living arts of rare virtuosity, and of a youth whose creativity burns bright, our nation possesses a treasure. Yet a paradox endures: this exceptional heritage remains an economic giant asleep. For too long, culture has been confined to the margins—as a mere afterthought or decorative budget line.

Our vision for 2035 is bold, systematic, and sovereign: to position culture as the fourth pillar of Bénin’s economy. This is not about indulging in nostalgic reverence, but about building a productive sector that generates wealth, dignified employment, and territorial innovation. To achieve this systemic transformation, eight major initiatives must be launched.

1. Legal imperative: lifting artists out of precarity through legislation

   A robust economy cannot stand on shifting legal sands. While recent regulatory steps have offered some progress, the urgency now demands a higher threshold. The status of artists and cultural workers, and the creation of a House of Artists, must no longer hinge on the fragility of decrees—subject to political whims and reversals. Only laws passed by the National Assembly can guarantee lasting legal stability and enforceable protection. Until such laws are adopted, the rigorous, accelerated, and binding implementation of existing decrees should serve as a provisional bridge. It is time to safeguard social protection for creators, modernize copyright governance, introduce sweeping tax incentives for private investors, and legally recognize professions tied to intangible cultural heritage. Protecting the artist means securing investment.

2. Human capital: rebuilding elite cultural engineering

   The lifeblood of this creative economy lies in its human resources. Amateurism must give way to elite professionalization. Bénin must launch a massive training initiative spanning artistic disciplines, cultural management, entrepreneurship, conservation and restoration techniques, and digital technologies applied to heritage. Each municipality must become an incubator for local talent, aligning training with the unique character of its land.

3. Knowledge sanctuaries: specialized schools and centers of excellence

   To institutionalize this transmission, the country’s academic architecture must rest on three pillars:

   • A National Higher School of Arts: To forge the vanguard of contemporary performance (dancers, choreographers, scenographers, technical directors).
   • A Higher Institute of Cultural Heritage: A cutting-edge scientific hub dedicated to safeguarding tangible and intangible heritage, museography, and archives.
   • An Academy of Bénin Arts and Traditions: A sacred space for cultural diplomacy and transmission, where master practitioners document and legitimize ancestral knowledge for future generations.

4. The physical footprint: deploying world-class infrastructure

   Creativity demands spaces worthy of its ambition. Bénin’s territorial network must be strengthened with modern, versatile, and decentralized infrastructure—from communal cultural centers to regional theaters, digital creation hubs, and artisan villages. Every department must have the physical tools needed for creation, production, distribution, and public engagement.

5. Financial backbone: revolutionizing access to funding

   Artistic boldness without financial means remains a mirage. We propose a three-dimensional financial architecture to propel the creative economy:

   • A National Cultural Development Fund focused on creation, research, and international mobility.
   • A Creative Economy Desk within financial institutions, offering preferential loans, guarantee mechanisms, and credit tailored to the specific cycles of artistic production.
   • A Public-Private Cultural Investment Fund, capable of raising capital from the state, local governments, the private sector, and the diaspora.

6. Industry approach: from craftsmanship to visual arts

   The Bénin cultural sector suffers from fragmentation that dilutes its impact. Whether in cinema, fashion, music, dance, or literature, each discipline must be structured as an autonomous industrial sector. This requires a decade-long strategic plan, dedicated training pathways, specialized distribution channels, and aggressive marketing strategies targeting regional and international markets.

7. The intangible heritage: the reservoir of Bénin’s uniqueness

   Our masks, ritual rhythms, initiation narratives, and artisanal savoir-faire are not mere folklore—they are priceless intangible assets. By investing in the digitization of collections, the certification of heritage festivals, and the creation of national cultural itineraries, Bénin can transform its living traditions into powerful engines of local development and tourist appeal.

8. Strategic convergence: culture, tourism, and agro-industry

   The global reach of Bénin’s identity depends on an organic symbiosis between culture, experiential tourism, and agro-industry. By elevating local products through the lens of our aesthetics, and designing territorial excellence labels, each region can turn its culture into a driver of economic prosperity. The tourist of 2035 will not come merely to admire a landscape—they will come to live a culture, savor a terroir, inhabit a story.

A rendez-vous with 2035

Building tomorrow’s Bénin requires breaking from the rent-seeking paradigms of the past. By 2035, our nation has the historic opportunity to become a beacon of the creative economy in sub-Saharan Africa. This transition is not poetic fantasy—it is high-stakes statecraft. By equipping our artists with protective, ambitious legal frameworks, financing boldness, and sanctifying our shared memories, we will make culture the engine of sustainable, inclusive growth—proudly rooted in Bénin’s genius. The hour is no longer for promises of decree, but for sanctification through law and decisive action.

By Marcel Zounon, cultural heritage consultant