Scholarships and Student Funding in Benin
By Muntasir • Published Oct 14, 2025 • Updated Aug 08, 2026 • African Countries & Cities, African Scholarships & Student Funding
The main funding route for students in Benin is the state scholarship, the bourse d'État, managed by the Direction des Bourses et Aides Universitaires (DBAU), which covers registration and pays a quarterly stipend.
📩 Apply and track your scholarship status through the official DBAU portal.
🎓 Scholarships go to the strongest new baccalauréat holders and to continuing students who keep good grades.
💵 Stipends run roughly 25,000-50,000 FCFA a quarter, depending on your field and university.
No state scholarship? You can still study by paying into the university's in-person or exam-only track.
Foreign government and foundation scholarships add extra routes for qualified students.
Bourse d'État: the main route
Most funded students in Benin study on a bourse d'État, a state scholarship administered by the Direction des Bourses et Aides Universitaires (DBAU), under MESRS. You apply and manage your file through the official DBAU portal . A scholarship covers your university registration fees and pays a quarterly stipend, generally in the range of 25,000-50,000 FCFA depending on your field of study and university, according to figures reported by apresbac.bj . Confirm the current amount for your program directly with DBAU, since it can change between academic years.
Who qualifies
New baccalauréat holders compete for a limited number of scholarship places, ranked mainly by grades and series alongside available budget. If you already hold a scholarship, you keep it by maintaining satisfactory academic progress. Fail or repeat a year without a valid reason, and you risk losing your funding and dropping into a paying track.
How to apply
Scholarship registration typically follows your university placement. Once MESRS places you at a public university through the national admission process, you register your scholarship file with DBAU, submitting your baccalauréat results, placement notice and identity documents. Deadlines are announced each cycle on the DBAU site, so check it as soon as you have your placement result.
If you don't get a state scholarship
Missing a scholarship does not shut you out of university. You can register in the paying track at your public university, either attending classes in person for a lower fee or paying more for an exam-only track if you cannot attend regularly. See the tuition breakdown for current fee ranges before you decide, and budget for the full year rather than assuming a scholarship will come through later.
Other funding routes
Foreign governments and foundations also fund Beninese students. Bilateral cooperation scholarships from other governments open periodically for baccalauréat holders. Recent MESRS communiqués have covered Tunisian and Egyptian cooperation programmes, and some require a family contribution toward living costs. Check the DBAU portal and MESRS communiqués for the current cycle rather than relying on past years' offers. France offers routes such as the Eiffel scholarship for postgraduate study, coordinated through the French embassy and Campus France. The Fondation Vallet also runs a merit scholarship program for outstanding Beninese students, judged mainly on academic results. Treat these as additions to, not replacements for, your state scholarship application, since eligibility and available slots change every cycle.