IMANI Francophone is the francophone extension of Africa’s second most influential think tank, IMANI Center for Policy and Education. IMANI Francophone works to: (i) influence policy decisions at all government levels, (ii) shape public opinion on issues of national interests (iii) and improve political, civil society and media activism in its different countries of intervention in the interest of development. Since its official launch in June 2014, IMANI Francophone has undertaken a number of activities true to its objectives, and within a short period of time, achieved an appreciable level of success and gained global media attention with appearances in AllAfrica.com, NextAfrique.com, La nouvelle Tribune, Le Point Afrique, African Business Journal, Jeune Afrique among many others. IMANI Francophone was launched with the support of the Open Society Initiatives for West Africa (OSIWA) and currently operates in five West African countries – Togo, Benin, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina-Faso with at least one research assistant working on each country. Benin is the focus country of the OSIWA-funded pilot project. IMANI Francophone-Benin technically started operating on March 26, 2015. Its thematic research areas include governance (economic, political, natural resource), trade and regional integration, and agriculture. The main objectives of the project are to shape public opinions on topical policy issues and influence public policy by producing evidence-based research. IMANI Francophone engaged the country’s government officials based on the findings of its research work. Download the full report