GBESSOKE
GBESSOKE (Programme de Filets de Protection Sociale Productifs) is Benin's flagship national productive safety-net program, run by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Microfinance with the National Social Protection Agency (ANPS). It gives regular cash transfers plus productive grants to households certified as living in extreme poverty in Benin's Single Social Registry. The government began disbursing payments to a first pilot cohort of 20,621 households (85% women-led) across 12 communes in September 2025, paying roughly 10,000 FCFA/month for nine months plus two 50,000 FCFA productive grants. It is funded by a $100 million World Bank/IDA loan and an estimated $128 million from the Government of Benin, and aims to progressively expand to 150,000 extremely poor households (about one million people) across all 77 communes by 2027. Funds are sent electronically via secure SIM cards issued to beneficiaries.
Government-run, World Bank-financed (IDA), Productive safety net, Mobile-money/SIM-based transfers, Extreme-poverty targeting via Single Social Registry, Women-majority beneficiaries (85%), Income-generating activity (AGR) grants, West Africa, National scale-up, Flood-response component
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Ministère des Affaires Sociales et de la Microfinance (Government of Benin)
- City
- Cotonou
- State / Province
- Littoral
- Country
- Benin
Contact
- Website
- https://social.gouv.bj
- Phone
- +229 60 42 02 02
- masm.info@gouv.bj
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Active
- Number of recipients
- 150,000
- Funding type
- Government
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Total Amount
- 190,000
- Avg. Per Month
- 21,111.11
- Payment frequency
- Variable
- How long the program lasts
- 9 months
- Distribution Type
- Mobile money via secured SIM card (electronic/digital transfer to beneficiary's phone)
- Benefit details
The pilot cohort receives a monthly cash transfer (about 10,000 FCFA per household, ~208.3 million FCFA disbursed to 20,621 households in the first month) for nine consecutive months, plus two additional lump-sum 'productive' grants of 50,000 FCFA each at month 6 and month 9 to help launch income-generating activities (AGR). Funds are sent electronically to free, secure SIM cards issued to each beneficiary household to ensure transparency and traceability. The program is linked to complementary services (Projet ARCH health insurance/training, Microcrédit Alafia, and Single-Window Social Protection centers). New cohorts are added progressively as household eligibility is certified, with a goal of eventually covering 150,000 households nationwide, including 10,000 flood-affected families.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligible households are those certified as living in extreme poverty in Benin's Single Social Registry (Registre Social Unique), built from a national Proxy Means Test survey and community validation completed in 2021 across all 77 communes. A mixed team from the national statistics institute (INStaD) and the Ministry of Social Affairs verifies each household on the ground before enrollment. Targeting factors feeding the poverty scoring formula include children's school enrollment status, widowhood, and disability in the household. The program has strongly prioritized women, who made up 85% of first-cohort beneficiaries, and also includes special support for roughly 10,000 households affected by flooding.
Health
- Disability status
- Yes
Financial
- Banked status
- Unbanked, Underbanked
Citizenship
- Citizenship / immigration status
- Citizen
Geography
- Countries covered
- Benin
- Counties covered
- Pilot phase (12 of 77 communes): Sô-Ava, Tanguiéta, Ségbana, Lokossa, Parakou, Cotonou, Ouaké, Ouèssè, Djakotomey, Pobè, Adjohoun, Za-Kpota. Program is planned to expand progressively to all 77 communes of Benin.
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Complementary program enrollment required
- Projet ARCH (health insurance, credit, training), Microcrédit Alafia, Guichets Uniques de Protection Sociale (GUPS) single-window social service centers, income-generating-activity (AGR) training and support
Application Process
- How to apply
There is no open public application; the program is not opt-in. Beneficiary households are pre-identified through Benin's national Single Social Registry (built via household surveys/Proxy Means Testing and community validation), then re-verified in the field by joint INStaD/Ministry of Social Affairs and Microfinance teams before being enrolled and issued a secure SIM card to receive transfers.
- Selection process
Households are drawn from the Single Social Registry based on a composite poverty-scoring formula, re-verified on the ground by INStaD and Ministry of Social Affairs and Microfinance agents to confirm extreme-poverty status, then filtered and validated into a final beneficiary list. Free secure SIM cards are distributed for transparent electronic disbursement, and community-based grievance-redress committees handle complaints/appeals during rollout.
