Benin: technology regulation at a glance

Framework: WAEMU AML/CFT Uniform Law (31 March 2023) transposed by Benin Law No. 2024-01 of 20 February 2024; BCEAO as regional monetary authority; no standalone crypto licensing law in force

Benin has no dedicated cryptocurrency legislation but enacted Law No. 2024-01 (February 2024) transposing the WAEMU AML/CFT Uniform Law, which introduces VASP definitions and a prior-authorisation requirement aligned with FATF Recommendation 15. Crypto assets are neither recognised as legal tender nor explicitly banned, with activity treated under general tax and commercial law. The BCEAO hosted an international conference in May 2026 to shape a balanced regional approach, but implementing regulations for VASP licensing remain absent.

Framework: Stratégie Nationale d'Intelligence Artificielle et des Mégadonnées (SNIAM) 2023-2027, Ministry of Digitalisation; underpinned by Code du Numérique (Law N°2017-20, 2018)

Benin adopted its National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence and Big Data (SNIAM) 2023-2027 by Council of Ministers decree on 18 January 2023, establishing a five-year non-binding strategic framework. No dedicated AI law or binding sectoral AI regulation exists as of mid-2026; the strategy explicitly calls for future legislation on AI ethics and liability as a forthcoming governance action. The existing digital legal base is the Code du Numérique, which contains no AI-specific provisions.

Framework: Law No. 2017-20 of 20 April 2018 (Digital Code of Benin, Book 5), as amended by Law No. 2020-35 of 6 January 2021; supervised by the Autorité de Protection des Données Personnelles (APDP)

Benin has a comprehensive personal-data protection regime anchored in its Digital Code (Law No. 2017-20, 2018), which consolidated and superseded the earlier Law No. 2009-09 of 2009. The framework covers the collection, processing, transmission, storage, and use of personal data by both public and private entities and is enforced by the independent APDP (formerly CNIL-Bénin). The regime implements the ECOWAS regional Additional Act A/SA.1/01/10 on personal data protection, aligning Benin with the wider West African standard.

Framework: BCEAO Instruction No. 001-01-2024 (23 January 2024) on payment services in UMOA member states; regulator is the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO), the supranational central bank for all eight WAEMU/UMOA states including Benin

Benin, as a WAEMU member state, operates entirely under the BCEAO's unified payment services licensing framework established by Instruction No. 001-01-2024. Since 1 September 2025, all payment service and e-money providers must hold a BCEAO-issued licence to operate in the zone, with two licence categories, Payment Institution (PI) and Electronic Money Institution (EMI), covering fintechs, mobile money operators, and payment aggregators. A regional instant-payment rail (PI-SPI) launched in September 2025 interconnects banks, mobile money operators, and licensed fintechs across WAEMU.

Framework: Law No. 2025-15 of 2 July 2025 on the entry, stay, residence and departure of foreigners in Benin; administered by the Direction de l'Émigration et de l'Immigration (DEI) under the Ministry of Interior

Benin has no dedicated digital nomad or remote-work visa as of 2026. The country's overhauled immigration law (Law No. 2025-15, July 2025) created four stay-visa categories, tourist/visit, business, professional, and study, of which the 12-month professional visa and the tiered long-stay residence card system represent the most plausible routes for remote workers. No golden-visa or residency-by-investment programme exists.

Framework: Loi n° 2017-20 portant Code du Numérique (in force April 2018), amended by Loi n° 2020-35 (2021); enforced by CRIET (specialized court), OCRC (cybercrime unit), APDP (data-protection authority), and ARCEP (telecoms regulator)

Benin's online content and safety regime rests on the Code du Numérique (Law No. 2017-20, 647 articles, in force 2018, amended 2021), an omnibus digital law covering cybercrime, data protection, intermediary liability, and specific online-expression offences. No dedicated standalone platform-moderation or online-safety law comparable to the EU DSA or UK Online Safety Act exists. As of mid-2025 parliament was debating reforms amid sustained civil-society criticism that certain provisions, particularly Article 550, are being weaponised against journalists and online critics rather than protecting users.

Framework: Loi No. 2017-20 du 20 avril 2018 portant Code du Numérique en République du Bénin (amended by Law No. 2020-35 of 6 January 2021), administered by ANSSI-Bénin and APDP

Benin's cybersecurity obligations are anchored in its comprehensive Digital Code (Code du Numérique), whose Book VI establishes cybercrime offences, cybersecurity duties, and cryptology rules applicable across all digital actors. The framework is not a standalone NIS2-style cybersecurity statute but rather an integrated digital law; ANSSI-Bénin and its bjCSIRT provide the operational and regulatory backbone, supported by a National Cybersecurity Strategy and, since October 2024, the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime entering into force for Benin.

Framework: OHADA Uniform Act on Commercial Companies and Economic Interest Groups (AUSCGIE); Benin Investment Code (Law No. 2020-36 of 5 October 2020); administered by the Agence de Promotion des Investissements et des Exportations (APIEx) via the GUFE one-stop shop and MonEntreprise.bj platform

Benin has substantially liberalised and digitised business registration, operating a government-run online one-stop shop (MonEntreprise.bj) that can issue incorporation documents within 24 hours for most structures. Foreign investors face no general ownership caps and no mandatory prior-approval screening, though outright land ownership is prohibited for non-nationals. The country's membership in OHADA provides a predictable, harmonised corporate-law framework shared across 17 African states.