Lomé Pushes to Become Africa’s Compliance Capital by 2026

Economic governance

Thursday, 10 July 2025 05:27

Lomé Pushes to Become Africa’s Compliance Capital by 2026

(Togo First) - Togo reaffirmed its commitment on Tuesday to become a central player in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) in Africa. For the second consecutive year, Lomé has hosted the Grand Meeting of Compliance and Risk Officers (GRCRO) since July 8, 2025. The event brings together over 600 compliance professionals, including regulators, auditors, bankers, and civil society representatives, from 42 countries.

The Togolese Association of Compliance Officers (ATCO) organized the event amidst growing demands from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) across the continent. As of June 2025, twelve African states remained on the FATF's grey list, signaling increased monitoring for strategic deficiencies in their ML/TF frameworks. Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Algeria, and South Africa are directly affected.

"Africa has lost over $1 trillion in illicit financial flows over the past 50 years," warned Georges Essowè Barcola, Togo's Minister of Economy and Finance, during the opening ceremony. He added that annual losses from illicit financial flows have risen from $50 billion to $90 billion in five years, amounting to nearly 4% of Africa’s GDP. Togo, he emphasized, intends to play its full part in addressing this issue.

The minister highlighted the crucial role of financial institutions and designated non-financial professions within Togo’s compliance framework. He also stressed the need to strengthen public-private partnerships to counter increasingly sophisticated criminal networks. "Effectiveness must be the standard of Togo’s framework, in view of the third round of mutual evaluation scheduled for 2030," he said.

Kimélabalou Aba, president of Togo’s High Authority for the Prevention and Fight Against Corruption and Related Offenses (HAPLUCIA), echoed this message. Aba stated that the compliance function "no longer stops at applying regulations" but has evolved into a systemic prevention tool and a means to embed ethics in both public and private governance. "The fight for integrity is demanding, but it is just and necessary," Aba stressed.

Félix Edoh Kossi Amenounvé, Director General of the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM), who was also present in Lomé, outlined his institution's efforts to integrate compliance requirements into all operations. "We have implemented an anti-money laundering policy, integrated ESG standards, strengthened audit and oversight, and introduced a governance code for listed companies. It is essential that our financial center remains credible in the eyes of investors," he explained.

According to Nikada Batchoudi, president of ATCO, this momentum is expected to accelerate. "We must feed the judicial systems with red flags and build a pan-African compliance community," Batchoudi said. A roadmap is expected to be adopted after this second edition. The stated ambition is to establish Lomé as Africa’s capital in the fight against money laundering by July 2026.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

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.