The Saga of the Nana Benz: Queens of Cloth and Pillars of West African Economy

Before the world talked about women's entrepreneurship, they were already running empires. The Nana Benz of Togo reinvented commerce in West Africa — and they did it in Mercedes.

The word "Nana" means "mother" or "grandmother" in several languages of Togo. And "Benz"? That's the Mercedes they drove — tangible proof of an economic success few men, at the time, could rival. In a country where women were expected to remain in the shadows of commerce, around fifteen Togolese traders built, starting in the 1960s, empires on Dutch wax fabric and became the first millionaires of West Africa.

The story begins with an opportunity seized with extraordinary intuition. In the late 1950s, when Ghana decided to reject imported Dutch wax to favor its own local production, Togolese traders saw an opening. They organized, forged ties with Dutch manufacturers — notably Vlisco, then still owned by the Van Vlissingen family — and secured exclusivity agreements on certain patterns. A business model of remarkable sophistication for its time.

The Nana Benz system rested on a monopoly over patterns. Each woman held exclusive distribution rights to certain prints, sold to her alone by the manufacturer. A successful Nana could hold exclusivity over more than sixty different patterns, which she then redistributed to traders from across West Africa. The Grand Marché in Lomé, their headquarters, was the nerve center of a commercial network that stretched from Nigeria to Mali, from Senegal to Côte d'Ivoire.

They also understood something few industrialists had grasped: African consumers wanted patterns that looked like them, that spoke of their lives. The Nana Benz began suggesting, then dictating, patterns to the Dutch manufacturers — prints inspired by African nature, social life, and romantic relationships. In a polygamous society, many fabric names evoked jealousy between co-wives or the subtleties of courtship. These fabrics told stories, and that's also why they sold so well.

The Wax Empire: How They Took Control

The Nana Benz's heyday spanned the 1960s through the early 1980s. At their peak, they ranked among Togo's wealthiest figures, influencing national politics and helping fund parties and election campaigns. Some sent their children to study in Europe. Others funded the construction of schools and hospitals in their home villages. Their philanthropy was discreet but real.

Then the winds turned. The political unrest of the early 1990s weakened Togo's economy. The 1994 devaluation of the CFA franc cut into their purchasing power and import capacity. But the final blow came from China. Starting in the early 2000s, wax fabrics manufactured in Shanghai, sold at ten times lower prices than the Dutch originals, flooded the African market. Neither Togolese authorities nor European manufacturers found an effective response.

Grand Marché, Lomé, Togo — The historic heart of the Nana Benz empire

The Fall and the Immortal Legacy

In 2013, the fire that ravaged Lomé's central market destroyed the shops, stock, and business archives of many still-active Nana Benz. It was as much a tragic symbol as an economic catastrophe. Dédé Rose Gamélé Creppy, the last surviving member of the original group, passed away in 2023 at the age of 89. With her went the last direct voice of an era.

But their legacy is alive. The Togolese government has announced plans for a museum dedicated to the Nana Benz. Associations keep their memory alive. Historians and anthropologists document their story. And across Africa, women entrepreneurs who never knew them carry, without realizing it, something of their fire.