Afropéennes Festival Returns to Lomé, Spotlighting Island Sounds and Rising Togolese Talent

Culture

Friday, 06 February 2026 12:06

Afropéennes Festival Returns to Lomé, Spotlighting Island Sounds and Rising Togolese Talent

(Togo First) - Lomé will host the fourth instalment of the Les Afropéennes from February 20 to 22, 2026. Now firmly established on the Togolese capital’s cultural calendar, the event brings together Togolese and international artists exploring musical exchanges between Africa and Europe.

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Organised by Togo Créatif, the festival will take place at the Cacaveli market and the Institut Français du Togo. This year’s lineup mixes established performers with emerging talent, with a particular focus on island music, highlighting islands as hubs of cultural exchange and artistic transformation.

Togolese artists including Dieudonné Wila, Joachim Migos, Dogo du Togo and Senzaa will perform alongside musicians from Cape Verde, the Republic of the Congo, Réunion Island, Guadeloupe and the United States.

According to festival programmer Florent de la Tullaye, Les Afropéennes aims to introduce Lomé audiences to artists who are little known locally but recognised elsewhere, while giving well-known Togolese performers the opportunity to reach new audiences.

Beyond the concerts, the 2026 edition will feature an Open Mic competition dedicated to freestyle rap and singing, aimed at helping young artists break through. The finals will be held before a professional jury and a live audience.

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From left to right: Tam Hakeem Toutou (Hakim Toutou Tamandja), a cultural promoter and festival partner, and Florent de la Tullaye, the festival’s programmer, during a presentation of the Open Mic concept for Les Afropéennes 2026.

Attendance has continued to rise in recent years. The festival drew nearly 5,000 spectators in both 2023 and 2024, before climbing to around 8,000 in 2025. Similar growth is expected this year, with off-site sessions planned in youth-oriented neighbourhoods such as Agoè for the Open Mic segment.

The festival is funded under the Togo Créatif programme, supported by the European Union with €6.16 million over six years. The multi-year initiative covers several creative sectors, particularly the performing arts. According to Stéphane Blanchon, director of the Institut Français du Togo, the funding supports training, artistic creation and the promotion of Togolese artists in Togo and abroad.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.