Togo launches SWEDD project to empower its women and girls

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Wednesday, 15 November 2023 17:08

Togo launches SWEDD project to empower its women and girls

(Togo First) - Togo launched the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Project (SWEDD+) on November 14. The World Bank-backed initiative was officially kicked off at the University of Lomé, by the minister of women empowerment and literacy, Adjovi Lolonyo Anakoma-Apedoh.

"SWEDD Togo aims to improve girls' and women's access to learning, economic opportunities, and the use of health services, as well as to strengthen Togo's institutional capacity for gender equality," said the minister, as he launched the project.

Approved by the World Bank's Board of Directors on September 29, 2023, the program will require CFA37.5 billion. It targets over 105,000 Togolese girls and young women as direct beneficiaries, through interventions at the community level. Emphasis will be placed on women's economic empowerment and keeping girls in school.

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Present at the launch, the World Bank’s Director of Operations for Togo, Marie-Chantal Uwanyiligira, declared: "The project we are launching today aims to reinforce the government's efforts to empower women and girls. It is a regional project that is already active in several countries in West and Central Africa".

This will include improving access to learning, economic opportunities, and health services for adolescent girls and young women. SWEDD+ also aims to strengthen the regional institutional environment for gender equality.

Togo, it is worth noting, has been working to promote equal access for women to opportunities, particularly in education, entrepreneurship, and positions of responsibility, despite significant challenges. According to a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the proportion of women in managerial positions in Togo is 70%.

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)

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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)

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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)

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