IFC appoints new senior regional representative for Togo and four others

Finance

Tuesday, 01 March 2022 15:50

IFC appoints new senior regional representative for Togo and four others

(Togo First) - The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, has appointed Kyle Kelhofer as senior regional representative for Togo and four other countries in the sub-region (Benin, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone). He succeeds Nigerian Ronke-Amoni Ogunsulire in this position and will be based in Accra. The information was made public by the Bretton Woods institution, via a statement issued on Monday, February 28, 2022.

“In his new role, he will focus on supporting private sector growth, job creation, and post-Covid-19 recovery in West Africa,” the IFC said.

With nearly 30 years of international development experience, the new senior regional representative, a U.S. national, previously worked for the institution in Ghana. Prior to this position, the senior official served as IFC's senior regional representative for Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam, among other countries. Before that, he served in Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

“It is a great pleasure to be back in West Africa and I look forward to working with the IFC team to support the socio-economic development of the region. The Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, poverty, and unemployment are serious and interrelated challenges, but by working with public and private sector partners, we can help the region lay the foundation for strong and sustainable growth,” said Kyle Kelhofer.

In Togo, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, IFC's work includes supporting the agribusiness sector, bridging infrastructure and connectivity gaps, promoting digital inclusion, and financing micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), the institution said.

The private sector arm of the World Bank Group has been supporting Togo for several years in a wide range of sectors, including energy, financial markets, logistics, and health, with a project portfolio of $330 million. More recently, it announced support for solar and internet connectivity.

IFC opened its offices in Togo in October 2019 and has Ivorian Christopher Balliet Bléziri as its current Representative-Resident in the country.

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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.