When Muriel Akouewanou finished her studies in natural sciences in Benin, she struggled to find work and was unemployed for two years. Then, she saw an advert on TV. Textile factories were being built in a new industrial zone, 28 miles from Cotonou, the city where Akouewanou, 24, lived with her parents, and they needed workers.
“To be honest, it didn’t appeal to me,” she says. “It was something I’d never done, I’d never worked with machines.” Nevertheless, she applied, and was accepted on to the six-month training scheme.
