Togo Reviews World Bank Partnership, Finalizes Budget Support at IMF Meetings

Economy

Thursday, 16 October 2025 19:09

Togo Reviews World Bank Partnership, Finalizes Budget Support at IMF Meetings

(Togo First) - Togo and World Bank officials met on the sidelines of the annual International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group meetings in Washington to review their cooperation.

The Togolese delegation, led by Sandra Johnson, Secretary-General of the Presidency and World Bank Governor for Togo, discussed the progress of the current project portfolio and new initiatives in preparation or finalization stages.

Discussions were held between Johnson and Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa, alongside Marie-Chantal Uwanyiligira, Operations Manager for Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Guinea, and Togo.

The talks primarily focused on the development of Togolese agriculture through the World Bank-funded Program for the Modernization of Togolese Agriculture (ProMAT). This program aims to promote sustainable and competitive transformation of agriculture by focusing on innovation, optimizing agricultural value chains, and creating rural jobs, to establish Togo as a regional model for agricultural modernization.

Johnson reported that the two parties also finalized discussions regarding a new budget support program. This financing is intended to back economic reforms and promote job creation, particularly for youth and women.

This cooperation review occurs as the World Bank plans to mobilize more than $1.5 billion, or approximately 900 billion CFA francs, to support structural projects in priority sectors such as agriculture, energy, and the development of secondary cities under the 2025-2029 Country Partnership Framework.

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.