Discovery and access of primary biodiversity data are critical components in ensuring informed decision-making on the sustainable use of biological resources and biodiversity conservation at all levels. Although plant specimen collections in Benin have accumulated since the 1780s, their digitization and publication in the country began only recently (2010) in the framework of the activities of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) through GBIF-Benin. We successfully achieved data mobilization, thanks to the support of donors, especially the JRS Biodiversity Foundation. About 200,000 occurrence records from Benin are accessible on the GBIF and GBIF-Benin portals and, more than 100,000 of these were published during the last three years. One of the barriers to data mobilization in Benin was institutional. To overcome this, we had to consolidate partnerships with institutions working in the field of biodiversity through communication and outreach during workshops, face-to-face contact and capacity building for targeted staff. Another barrier to data publication was the unwillingness of data sharing. We overcame this by providing capacity building and incentives to data providers. Achieving sustainable success for biodiversity informatics in Benin will require setting up Masters and Ph.D. programs at the University of Abomey-Calavi, with the support of key stakeholders. Such programs will help promote an in-depth education of the Beninese in the fields of data mobilization and data use, and will provide research products to address the priority problems of the country.