Kako Nubukpo Praises Adétikopé, Calls Industrialization a Long-Term Strategy

Economic governance

Tuesday, 19 May 2026 13:43

Kako Nubukpo Praises Adétikopé, Calls Industrialization a Long-Term Strategy

(Togo First) - Togolese economist Kako Nubukpo praised the creation of the Adétikopé Industrial Platform (PIA) in an interview with Agence Ecofin and Togo First in Nairobi, on the sidelines of the Africa Forward summit co-chaired by Emmanuel Macron and William Ruto.

“I welcome the creation of the Adétikopé industrial platform in Togo, as well as the Glo-Djigbé industrial zone in Benin,” said the former WAEMU commissioner in charge of agriculture.

For Nubukpo a former minister, former WAEMU commissioner and director of the Sub-Saharan Africa Observatory at the Jean-Jaurès Foundation the two platforms illustrate a model of industrialization built on what he calls “developmental protectionism,” a concept he has long defended, including in his essay L’Afrique et le reste du monde (Odile Jacob, 2024).

“Using protectionist policies to industrialize is legitimate. That is how all industrialized nations developed,” he said, adding that even the United States openly practices protectionism today.

An industrial strategy gathering pace

The endorsement comes as Togo accelerates its industrial push. Launched in June 2021 under the National Development Plan, the PIA spans 400 hectares and currently hosts around 20 industrial companies.

Most recently, textile manufacturer Star Garments the first African production site of U.S.-based group Charles Komar & Sons was inaugurated in June 2025. The project represents an investment of 13 billion CFA francs, backed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The complex is expected to create 25,000 direct jobs over time.

For Nubukpo, the strategy must address structural constraints.

“The industrial base, energy costs, access to raw materials and economies of scale must make it possible to produce competitively for domestic markets and eventually for export,” he said.

Industrialization, added the author of L’urgence africaine (2019), remains “a long-term process” measured over “5, 10, 15 or 20 years.”

Given the predominantly rural makeup of West African populations, agro-industry represents, in his view, “a credible path toward economic transformation.”

Nubukpo also welcomed the creation of the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), operational since January 2023 and modeled on Asian state coordination agencies.

Since 2025, the ATA has overseen the Program for the Modernization of Agriculture in Togo (ProMAT 2025-2034), supported by $300 million in World Bank financing. The agency has already assisted more than 10,000 producers across 100 cantons.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

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