Festival La Marmite to showcase African cuisine in fifth Lomé edition

Culture

Monday, 16 March 2026 15:18

Festival La Marmite to showcase African cuisine in fifth Lomé edition

(Togo First) - Togo's Festival La Marmite (FESMA) will hold its fifth edition in Lomé from Aug. 12 to 16, 2026. This year's event, dedicated to promoting African and Togolese culinary arts, will be held under the theme "Promoting Integration and Social Cohesion Through Food."

Now established as a leading African culinary gathering, the festival will bring together chefs, producers, processors, entrepreneurs and food lovers over five days. The goal is to celebrate and promote the entire agri-food value chain, from agricultural production to processing and local consumption.

For this fifth edition, organizers have announced several new features, including the "Village des Saveurs." The space will allow visitors to discover culinary specialties from Togo's different regions as well as those of invited countries.

The event will also feature "Rencontres de Prestige," sessions in which prominent chefs will share their expertise and the culinary traditions of their countries.

For FESMA Commissioner General Jean-Paul Agboh Ahouélété, the festival goes beyond a simple food fair. "FESMA is not just a fair, it is a celebration of African identity," he said. Every dish tells a story and every flavor reflects an identity, he added. "FESMA will be the place where these stories come together to strengthen integration, cooperation and shared prosperity within the UEMOA region."

For the 2026 edition, organizers are targeting 50,000 visitors from Togo and the wider sub-region. A total of 200 exhibitors are expected, including chefs, restaurateurs, producers, processors, distributors and industry players, alongside about 50 institutions and organizations, including ministries, donors, international organizations and investors.

Esaïe Edoh

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.