Under relentless heat and in a store filled to the brim with products, Catherine Zinsou, is struggling, phone in hand and beads of sweat above her brows, to satisfy her customers. She offers all kinds of food and highly prized handicrafts. The stakes are high: she has to earn as much income as possible to feed her family and pay for her children to go to school. 

Catherine is a brave and tireless Beninese woman, married and a mother of two, she lives in Grand Popo, a coastal town located a few kilometers from Hillacondji Town on the border between Benin and Togo. She crosses this boarder several times a week to buy merchandise to sell at her shop.

Catherine must admit that business is not as good as it used to be; competition has become tough. Coming from a community with its economic challenges, women actively participate in the local economy to provide for their families.

"There are five of us selling practically the same products on the same row of stores. We are forced to share the market". 

To differentiate herself from her competitors, Catherine decided to focus on digital payments. She often lost sales when customers lacked cash and she didn't have the possibility to process mobile payment methods. These are especially popular with foreign visitors. Seeing an opportunity and relying on the stable and accessible telephone network in this part of Benin, Catherine was resolved to make use of the opportunity. "The mobile payment method is a real plus for me. It allows me to sell my products to foreign customers too," she says.

"It also allows me to solve the currency problems I was facing and, at the same time, to avoid counterfeit bills that are common in border areas like ours. I'm really pleased."