Togo: University of Lomé Hosts Second Edition of Innovation Crunch Time

Education

Thursday, 25 April 2024 16:16

Togo: University of Lomé Hosts Second Edition of Innovation Crunch Time

(Togo First) - The University of Lomé hosts the second edition of Innovation Crunch Time, an event fostering technological innovation. The meeting is organized by Ecole Polytechnique de Lomé (EPL), in partnership with the University of Technology of Belfort Montbéliard.

Innovation Crunch Time bridges the gap between businesses and the EPL, enabling students to tackle real-world problems. This year, Innovation Crunch Time has gathered 122 students to address 17 challenges presented by local companies.

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Professor Joseph Tsigbe, Director of Cooperation, lauded the initiative, underscoring its impact on upskilling tomorrow's engineers. "By expressing needs or proposing topics that require our students to use their minds to innovate, companies, local authorities, or partner associations contribute to the training of tomorrow's engineers," he said.

Meanwhile, EPL Director Professor Kondo Hloindo Adjallah urged students to showcase their creativity and technical skills. Crunch Time encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, immersing students in the professional world, and strengthening the partnership between the university and companies to meet job market demands. The event concludes on Friday, April 26, 2024.

The first edition of Crunch Time for technological innovation took place in March 2023, in collaboration with UTBM.

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.