The government of Togo has introduced a free training program aimed at young people aged 18 to 35 to develop skills in emerging digital professions.

The initiative, launched in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), seeks to equip a new generation of content creators and digital communicators with practical skills.

The program offers five modules covering content creation for social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, mobile journalism, web writing and search engine optimization (SEO), influencer marketing, and fact-checking.

Supported by the Ministry of Grassroots Development and UNDP-Togo, the two-month training targets young individuals passionate about digital technology, social media, or media careers. Applicants may apply for one module only.

Interested candidates must submit their applications online by May 25, 2025.

On Monday, May 19, tax and customs officials from the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) gathered in the Togolese capital to discuss strategies for managing tax risks in the mining sector.

The week-long meeting, organized by the WAEMU Commission, aims to strengthen member states’ capacities to combat tax evasion, avoidance, and false invoicing related to mining activities. Delegates will also share practical tools to identify and address tax-related challenges.

The initiative seeks to bolster tax revenues and improve coordination between tax and customs administrations, particularly as mining operators increase the number of parades they use.

Essokiza Anakpa, Director General of Budget and Finance and Permanent Secretary of the ECOWAS-UEMOA unit, opened the meeting on behalf of Togo’s Minister of Economy and Finance. “Despite the efforts of Member States, there are still major challenges to be met in the fight against tax avoidance in the mining sector,” he declared.

According to WAEMU Commission data, mining-related tax and non-tax revenues constitute a significant portion of national budgets in the region. In 2023, these revenues accounted for 27.8% of Mali’s budget and 9.4% of Senegal’s. In Togo, where mining’s contribution to GDP remains modest, the sector represented nearly 2% of the budget in 2022.

The meeting runs through May 23.

This article was initially published in French by Octave A. Bruce

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

African Union (AU) co-facilitators convened in Lomé, Togo, on May 17  to coordinate efforts to resolve the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The meeting, chaired by Togolese Prime Minister Faure Gnassingbé, sought to harmonize approaches to restoring peace and stability in the Great Lakes region.

Former African leaders, including Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, Catherine Samba-Panza of the Central African Republic, and Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia, participated in the discussions. The roundtable focused on aligning African-led initiatives with existing regional and international peace efforts.

The group emphasized the need for enhanced cooperation with regional bodies such as the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as with external partners including Qatar and the United States.

Gnassingbé was appointed AU co-facilitator on April 12, succeeding Angolan President João Lourenço. His mandate includes reviving peace talks between Kinshasa and Kigali amid ongoing tensions involving the M23 rebel group, which the DRC government accuses of receiving support from Rwanda.

This article was initially published in French by Esaïe Edoh

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

Last week, the World Bank handed out equipment to fishmongers and market gardeners in Togo’s Lacs 1 and Lacs 3 communes. The gear aims to strengthen their work along the vulnerable Gbodjomé-Sanvi-Kondji coastal stretch, which faces serious marine erosion.

The donation, valued at CFA26 million, was provided to 30 groups of fishmongers and 40 groups of market gardeners. The equipment includes electric pressure sprayers with rechargeable batteries, protective suits, coolers, freezers, trestles, gloves, headgear, and bibs.

Adou Rahim Assimiou, the project’s national coordinator, said the gear helps coastal communities whose fishing and gardening livelihoods suffer from coastal protection construction. The project seeks to reinforce their resilience by upgrading production conditions in areas transformed by protective infrastructure development.

This support is part of the World Bank’s West African Coastal Zone Resilience Investment Project (WACA ResIP), which has a social sub-project budget of CFA1.5 billion. The project will soon provide outboard motor dugout canoes, fishing nets, and life jackets to local fishermen.

The initiative also plans to build community facilities like latrines, boreholes, and Chorkor-type ovens. Training sessions started in February 2025 for market gardeners in Lacs 1 and Lacs 3 and will continue.

This article was initially published in French by Esaïe Edoh

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

On May 16, the municipalities of Sotouboua 2 and Doufelgou 1 in northern Togo started drafting their municipal development plans (PDC). The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) supports the effort with technical and financial aid.

The drafting process aims to equip these local governments with tools to identify their communities’ needs and set priority actions.

This initiative fits into Togo’s national policy to decentralize power and build local government capacity. The plans will yield reference documents to guide development projects for the next five years.

The process includes diagnosing municipal challenges, clarifying stakeholders’ roles, raising awareness about the plan, and training officials to collect data in the affected cantons. Once complete, Sotouboua 2 and Doufelgou 1 will join about 60 other Togolese communes with development plans.

The PDC serves as a strategic tool for local planning. It lets municipalities outline broad public investment guidelines for a set period. The plan targets key population needs in basic infrastructure, social services, agriculture, environmental protection, and youth employment.

This article was initially published in French by Esaie Edoh

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

Togo’s Retirement Fund (CRT) paid out more than CFA12.96 billion in social benefits during the first quarter of 2025, exceeding total receipts of CFA11.97 billion and resulting in a technical deficit of nearly CFA1 billion. The data was released by the fund.

The CRT disbursed pensions to 27,883 retirees and provided widow’s pensions and temporary allowances to 7,159 and 6,198 beneficiaries, respectively. Family benefits accounted for over CFA1.1 billion in payments, while disability pensions totaled CFA21 million.

Pension contributions totalled around CFA11.63 billion during the quarter concerned; that is 97.2% of CRT’s revenue over the period. 

The fund also earned CFA215 million from financial income, likely from investments, and CFA119 million from other sources, including subsidies and reimbursements.

The data highlights CRT’s heavy reliance on contributions from active members, with limited income generated from investments or other independent sources.

This article was initially published in French by Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

A new FAO report reveals that in Togo, people need about $3.20 daily (almost CFA2,000) to access a healthy diet. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines the Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) as the minimum price to locally obtain foods meeting an individual's daily nutritional needs, based on a 2,330 kcal intake.

The FAO bases this indicator on six essential food groups. These include starchy foods, nuts and seeds, pulses, oils and fats, fruits, and animal products.

Adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP), this cost makes Togo one of Africa's least expensive countries for healthy eating. Only Guinea is cheaper, at $3.10. Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal are more expensive, at $3.30 and $3.40, respectively.

This figure ranks Togo as the sixth cheapest for healthy food on the continent. It remains well below the African average of $3.74 (approximately CFA2200).

Despite this relatively low cost in a region facing economic insecurity, the FAO warns that this price level does not guarantee actual access to healthy food for everyone.

Although West Africa has the continent's lowest average cost ($3.65), nearly 300 million people there cannot afford a balanced diet. Togo shares this challenge. Pockets of poverty, geographical inequalities, and a lack of nutritional education hinder healthy diet adoption.

This article was initially published in French by Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

In Togo, the Union of Regional Chambers of Trade (UCRM) and the Confederation of Junior Enterprises (CJET) will help young craftsmen structure and formalize their business. The two institutions signed a partnership agreement to this end on May 15, 2025.

The deal, spanning five years, will help beneficiaries hone their management skills, secure loans and access markets with more ease. The UCRM and CJET also wants to help young Togolese craftsmen more visible across in both the public and private sectors.

Issa Mouhamed, President of UCRM, considers the deal as “more than a partnership”.  “It is a commitment,” he declared, emphasizing the talent of Togolese craftsmen and the importance of economic recognition.

“This partnership is a concrete response to the need to structure young craft enterprises,” said CJET boss, Médissa Sama, stressing that the move will help artisans “make a living from their craft” and comply with regional and international standards, facilitating smoother relations with government and social security bodies.

The CJET recently inked a similar agreement with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI-Togo), also focused on youth entrepreneurship.

This article was initially published in French by Esaïe Edoh

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho