Togo Workshop Pushes for Greater Role of Women in Tech

ITC

Wednesday, 27 August 2025 10:02

Togo Workshop Pushes for Greater Role of Women in Tech

Around 60 participants met in Lomé, Kara and Sokodé to draft a national action plan for women in STEM.
A hackathon, “Education for Her,” rewarded three winning university teams with technical support from Togo Data Lab.
A charter was adopted to create Tech clubs in universities to guide female students into technology careers.

National Workshop in Lomé

Togo hosted a national workshop from August 19–22 at the University of Lomé to boost women’s participation in technology sectors. About 60 participants from Lomé, Kara and Sokodé took part in the event.

Agence Togo Digital organized the workshop with support from the ProDigiT project run by GIZ. The gathering provided a platform to share experiences, research and solutions to advance women’s roles in the digital economy.

Breaking Barriers

The programme featured a study on gender equality in digital industries and discussions with leading Togolese tech figures, including Sati Sai (Trankyl), Binta Barry (Semoa), Belynda Latre Lawson-Betum (CDA) and Doris Djaglo (Makifaa). Participants also worked on a national action plan to make STEM careers more inclusive for female students and young professionals.

A highlight was the “Education for Her” hackathon. ESGIS came first, followed by the University of Kara and Defitech. The three teams will receive technical support from Togo Data Lab to develop their projects.

Sustaining Efforts

The workshop concluded with the adoption of a charter to launch Tech clubs in universities. The clubs will raise awareness and guide female students toward careers in science and technology.

For participants, the event was transformative. “It helped me build my confidence and understand that real efforts are being made to improve education for young women in tech,” said Abidé N., a mobile web development student.

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.