Scientific Committee and Start-Up Jury Session make recommendations for the success of FARI-2025 in Benin
21 Mar, 2025The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) must strengthen its collaboration with its Member States in the management of the African Forum for Research and Innovation (FARI), the 2nd edition of which will take place in Benin in May 2025. This was one of the recommendations of the meeting of the Scientific Committee and the session of the start-up jury for this important event, which ended on Wednesday March 19, 2025, in Cotonou, Benin’s economic capital.
To ensure the smooth organization and resounding success of FARI, it was suggested that a global communications strategy be implemented, involving national academies of science, networks of inventors’ associations and start-ups at national level.
It was also decided to organize a meeting to reflect on the constraints linked to the implementation of decisions taken at regional and continental level on Science and Innovation.
A virtual meeting will be held in April 2025, bringing together the members of the Scientific Committee and the start-up jury session, with the aim of updating information prior to FARI-2025.
Participants were also asked to promote FARI-2025 at a national level, to mobilize all Forum stakeholders.
In addition to these various recommendations, participants at the meeting finalized the terms of reference for the various panels, the FARI-2025 work program and selected the three best start-ups per ECOWAS Member State to take part in the Forum in Bénin Republic.
With regard to the keynote speaker for the Forum, the Scientific Committee identified two personalities, one from South Africa and the other from Nigeria. It also confirmed the names of the personalities who have already confirmed their participation in the Forum, both in terms of panels and training workshops.
The Acting Director of Education, Science and Culture of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Roland Kouakou, representing the Commissioner in charge of Human Development and Social Affairs, Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, congratulated the members of the Scientific Committee and the start-up jury session of FARI-2025 on the quality of their work. He reaffirmed ECOWAS’ commitment to implementing the roadmap leading up to the Forum in accordance with the Regional Organization’s procedures.
In his closing remarks, the Chairman of the FARI-2025 Scientific Committee, Prof. Saliou Touré, recalled that one of the essential missions of the members of the Scientific Committee and the ses-sion of the start-up jury is the success of FARI-2025.
This meeting of the FARI-2025 Scientific Committee and Jury of Start-ups was followed the next day, Thursday March 20, 2025, by a meeting of the FARI-2025 National Organizing Committee with the ECOWAS Commission. On the agenda were a presentation of FARI, a reminder of the terms of reference of the ECOWAS Commission and the host country (Benin), the general agenda and the organizational arrangements for FARI-2025.
At the end of the meeting, Koladé Josué Azandégbey, Chairman of the FARI-2025 National Organizing Committee and Deputy Director of the Cabinet of Benin’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, reassured participants of the steps the Benin Republic would be taking to ensure the success of FARI-2025.
As a reminder, it was on December 8, 2018, in Cotonou, that the 3rd meeting of ECOWAS ministers in charge of Science, Technology and Innovation adopted the recommendation relating to the creation of the African Forum for Research and Innovation (FARI).
FARI is the ECOWAS forum dedicated to science, technology and innovation. It derives from strategic axis 5 of the Action Plan of the Regional Organization’s Science, Technology and Innovation policy.
It is also the forum dedicated to promoting inventions and innovation through the exhibition of inventors and start-ups from the West African region. Eventually, it should be accredited as one of the major science and innovation events in the ECOWAS region.
When FARI was created, it was recommended that a jury and a Scientific Committee be set up. The Scientific Committee, in charge of organizing the Forum, is also responsible for preparing the scientific, technical and financial phases, as well as proposing the Forum’s central theme and discussion panels.
As for the jury, its mission is to select the three best start-ups from each member state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to take part in the FARI. During its session at the Forum, the jury will meet to select the three FARI 2025 start-ups.
