The World Bank-backed West Africa Food System Resilience Program (FSRP) directly benefited 261,501 people in 2023. That is around 160,000 more than aimed for the year reviewed.  

The program’s goal is to make actors of the food system of the country, farmers mainly, more resilient and to help beneficiaries better tackle food insecurity. 

The project focuses on three axes: investment in climate-smart agriculture at the farm and landscape level; promoting an enabling environment for value chain development and intra-regional trade, and strengthening regional capacity to manage agricultural risks.

At the regional level, the FSRP directly impacted 1.28 million people, 37% of whom are women. 

Deployed in seven countries, the program benefits from overall funding of $570 million, with additional funding in some countries.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) projects that its investments in Togo will exceed $80 million by June 2024. 

In a recent meeting with Togo’s Prime Minister, Victoire Tomegah-Dogbe, the IFC Director for West Africa, Olivier Buyoya, disclosed the forecast. They met last Thursday, March 14.

“We opened our office here in Lomé four years ago. We are very proud to say that this fiscal year, which ends in June 2024, we expect our funding portfolio to exceed $80 million,” Buyoya said. 

“Three years ago, we were around $5 million in investments,” he added.

Coming soon: A workshop to bolster local businesses

During the meeting, the IFC executive also unveiled that the Corporation planned to hold a regional workshop for local IFC-backed businesses. 

"We have set up a program to support national champions. These are the Togolese companies that today struggle daily to create and maintain jobs. Our program will not only provide them with dedicated financing but also help them develop their projects," said Olivier Buyoya. Before adding: "We have communicated to Madam Prime Minister that we have chosen Lomé for the first workshop on this program at the regional level."

In Togo, the IFC invests in various sectors, such as internet connectivity (Axian and Togocom), energy (Zener), and mobility (Gozem).

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo raised CFA34 billion on the WAEMU market last Friday. The country’s treasury obtained the funds through a simultaneous issue of fungible treasury bonds and bills (OATs and BATs in French).

Overall, 16 investors subscribed to the operation, raising CFA35 billion, out of which the Togolese treasury retained CFA34 billion. 

According to the operation’s report, the treasury secured CFA28 billion through the BATs and CFA6 billion through the OATs. The former mature over 364 days and have multiple interest rates while the latter mature over 3 and 5 years at respective annual rates of 6.15% and 6.40%. 

Including this recent issue, Togo has secured CFA194 billion on the regional money market so far this year. This is around 32% of its annual target which is CFA607 billion. The funds will finance the national budget which stands at CFA2,179 billion, expenses and revenues. 

 Esaïe Edoh

The government will kick off tomorrow, March 19, the construction of 21 bridges in the countryside. Togo First learned from a reliable source that President Faure Gnassinbé would launch the project. Matière, a French company, is in charge of the works.  

The project is set to begin in Kolidè, in the Ogou 2 municipality (Plateaux region). 

With the bridges, rural people in the concerned areas will be able to access basic socio-economic facilities and services with more ease. They will also have more ease selling their farm products. 

The project covers all five regions of Togo. France cofinanced it with €78 million. Last June, the Togolese Minister of Finance, Sani Yaya, and the French Ambassador to Togo, Augustin Favereau, signed the financing agreement.

Esaïe Edoh

Last week, Adenia Partners announced it has acquired 12 subsidiaries of Air Liquide, a French industrial gas group. Adenia, a Mauritius-based private equity firm, indicated that the businesses acquired are spread across West and Central Africa. Togo is included.

Established in Togo in 1970, the French company Air Liquide supplies a range of industrial and medical gases, based on fundamental molecules such as oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen. The multinational also designs fluid distribution systems for the medical and laboratory sectors and offers welding and cutting solutions.

The purchase is a prelude to the formation of an independent industrial gas group. The 12 countries hosting the subsidiaries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Senegal, and Togo. Their names will change and they will be pooled under a new entity.

In a press release, Air Liquide added that it sold the assets for around €60 million. That is less than 10% of the Group's total sales in Africa.

Adenia Partners, which manages over $800 million in assets through more than 30 investments, promises to support the growth of this new sector of its portfolio with long-term investments of up to €30 million.

The African industrial sector currently experiences growth, as demand for essential gases such as oxygen and nitrogen increases. These gases are used in many fields, from healthcare to industrial processing.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Austrian Airlines can now serve Lomé directly. Last Thursday, March 14, Togo and Austria signed an agreement to this end. The deal was signed in Lomé, by the Togolese Minister of Transport, Affoh Atcha-Dedji, and the Austrian Ambassador to Togo, Thomas Schlesinger. 

Commenting on the deal, Idrissou Ahabout, Managing Director of the National Agency for Civil Aviation of Togo (ANAC), said: “This agreement enables companies like Asky and Ethiopian Airlines to offer direct flights to Austria, from Lomé. It also opens the way for all investors who want to connect Lomé to Vienna to initiate the processes.” 

The agreement integrates environmental protection, security, and travelers’ safety. 

It will contribute to the government’s ambition to make the airport of Lomé (AIGE) a regional hub. 

In October 2022, Asky Airlines, the Lomé-based pan-African airline, opened new flight routes. As a result, the number of passengers at AIGE soared above 630,000 people in the first half of 2023. 

It is worth noting that the airport hopes its passenger traffic will reach 1.5 million heads by 2025.

Esaïe Edoh

Togolese exports grew from CFA566.1 billion to CFA841 billion in value from 2012 to 2022. The data, consulted by Togo First, was initially reported by the country’s Institute for Statistics, INSEED. 

According to the source, though there were fluctuations over the decade concerned, the figure grew from year to year on average, and so did activity at the port of Lomé. 

From 566.1 billion in 2012, exports lept to 637.3 billion the next year, plunged by 26% in 2014, and soared back up to 598.3 billion in 2019.

Then Covid hit

Togo earned 561.1 billion from exports in 2020. The following year, the number grew to 598.8 billion. 

But 2022 turned the tables

In the year closing the decade reviewed, the country’s export revenues soared by 40% to CFA841 billion. 

The trend stood with export revenues standing at 424.1 billion in the first half of 2023, according to the INSEED. 

However, trade balance widens (more and more)

Over the same 10 years reviewed, import spending grew significantly, reflecting Togo’s dependency on foreign countries.

From 939.2 billion in 2012, the country spent CFA1,741.2 billion to buy foreign goods in 2022. 

Contrasting with export earnings, Togo recorded a negative trade balance of 900.2 billion in 2022, against -373.1 billion in 2012. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo produced 38,880 tons of cashews in 2023. This is against 22,937 tons in 2019 (+70%).  The figure was disclosed by the Interprofessional Council for Cashew in Togo (CIFAT), on March 14. The same day, the country launched its new cashew sales campaign for the year.

While production has grown significantly in the past five years, processing still lags. “From 2019 to 2023 on average 21.28% of the output was processed per year”, said Komlan Gozan, CIFAT Chairman. 

“Together, we must strive to ensure availability and quality of cashew products, to meet international standards, to have farmers earn fair amounts, and to create sustainable partnerships with stakeholders in the sector,” he added. 

Established in 2016, the CIFAT regroups five associations and federations of stakeholders, the COPAT, the FNCPATOGO, the 3A-TOGO, the ATTA, and the CEFA.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi