The documentary takes us to meet men and women who innovate in Benin with the support of VaBRINOV, one of the 14 projects run by VaRRIWA in Benin, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Togo to enhance the results of research and innovation.
In Benin, as elsewhere, the aim is to protect in order to better value.
- By making R&I actors aware of the value of patents (with a product patented by the OAPI, it will be protected from competition in 17 countries for 20 years).
- Universities and researchers do not yet have this IP-oriented culture, as they are still too often focused on their scientific publications and less on the commercialisation of innovative products with a societal impact.
This journey to the heart of innovation introduces us to products created from local raw materials: nutragée (a nutritional dragée made from cocoa and kola), an improved cooking stove (“Foyer sans souci”) made from roasted palm kernel shells, a TOZE repellent made from plant extracts and animal substances that improves the sometimes stormy relations between farmers and producers, and building materials made from palm kernel shells and fibres, ABCgrower, a plant growth booster based on organic fertilisers and biopesticides, and smoking briquettes based on agricultural residues – the range is wide and the creativity is there.
Behind these creations, there is valuable support provided by the University of Abomey-Calavi, which is piloting VABRINOV in synergy with the National Association of Inventors and Innovators of Benin and the Beninese Agency for the Valorisation of Research and Technological Innovation Results (AbeVRIT).
VaRRIWA (led by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie) is one of the 12 initiatives supported by the ACP Innovation Fund, implemented by the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States and funded by the European Union.
