"Say for You": Basso Sylvain's small business

BENIN

Basso Sylvain is a young Beninese determined to be an entrepreneur. He chose to take advantage of the many opportunities offered by the mobile phone sector in Africa, including the transfer of money via mobile phone, to build his business. A few months ago, with his small company called "Dis pour toi", he set out to conquer a market that is as competitive as it is unpredictable.

Born on January 1, 1978 in Adjadonmê-Olouhoù in the department of Mono-Kouffo in the Republic of Benin, Basso Sylvain decided to take the plunge into the world of entrepreneurship. He opted for the innovative services provided by mobile phone companies in Africa, including money transfer through mobile phones. Now living with his family in Cotonou, the capital, the young entrepreneur hopes to expand his business throughout the country.

To get to this level, it wasn't easy, he admitted. Indeed, Sylvain doesn't have a lot of money but has long dreamed of thriving in the business world. He firmly believes that his professional fulfillment will come from entrepreneurship and nothing else.

Some time ago, Basso was an outcry reseller of phone credits. That's when he started saving money in order to develop his business. When mobile phone operators innovated their services in Benin by enabling money transfer from mobile phones. Basso Sylvain didn't hesitate for a moment to seize this opportunity. He puts all his savings into it.

On December 6, 2018, he subscribed to a mobile phone operator and rented a small space in the city in the Aïbatin-Fidjrossê district where he set up his kiosk, the only point of sale for the time being. This is how "Dis pour Toi" was born, Basso Sylvain's small company specializing in money transfer through mobile networks.

With the help of his wife in the front office of this agency, the services of the small company are quite varied. Cash withdrawals and deposits are the most prominent. The sale of phone call credits represents the calling revenue. But "Say for You" also guides customers in activating mobile data and various services offered by the country's telephone operators. And for the time being, customer relations are satisfactory. The number of users is increasing, but the fact remains that complaints are sometimes registered. Indeed, it happens that customers make mistakes on phone numbers during transactions. However, in general, these problems are quickly resolved for the enjoyment of customers. Fraud is rare because the telephone operator remains very vigilant about the security and reliability of operations.

However, Sylvain's project is not without its difficulties because there is a lack of funding to aggregate all the country's mobile networks to his activity. For the time being, Basso Sylvain has only subscribed to one operator. This significantly reduces the number of potential customers. He also has only one kiosk in the city and according to him, it's not enough. It wants to subscribe to all operators as soon as possible in order to expand its market share. Selling sims, assigning numbers to customers, activating numbers, are all options that Sylvain wants to add to his catalog.

Looking for a potential partner, Sylvain advises those who would like to follow in his footsteps to double down on their ardour, patience and honesty.

Armel Séverin Mbembo