KYA-Energy Group, a Togolese manufacturer and seller of solar-powered appliances, sealed a partnership deal with Ecobank on November 27. Under the agreement, KYA-Energy will make its Kya-sop solar-powered generators available to Ecobank clients. The deal was sealed on the sidelines of the 18th Lomé International Trade Fair.

In detail, the deal will enable eligible clients (businesses) to secure need-tailored loans to buy the generators. The loans will be given through a green fund at good rates.

"We are making available to the population loan packages with attractive conditions to facilitate the acquisition of this equipment from Kya-Energy Group and at the same time, participate in the energy transition," said Souleymane Touré, Director of Ecobank Togo.

For his part, Yao Azoumah, CEO of Kya-Energy Group, said the new partnership is a catalyst that guarantees wider access to Kya-sop solar-powered generators.

Kya-sop generators are solar-powered devices that offer a decentralized electricity supply system, using standardized hybrid mobile cabinets. They are designed and assembled locally for a range of applications, including solar irrigation, and electrification of health centers, schools, SMEs, and homes.

The Togolese government wants to reform its Economic and Social Council (CES). The Council of Ministers approved last Saturday, a draft organic bill aimed at making significant changes to the law in force since 2019, which governs the composition, organization, and operation of the CES. 

Lomé explained that the revision stems from the need to remedy certain shortcomings of the previous law, notably concerning the appointment of members, their distribution by sector of activity, and their mode of remuneration.

The new bill, currently under discussion, aims primarily to clarify and strengthen the CES's remit, modernize the process of appointing its members, and broaden their representativeness by including representatives of the public sector, the private sector, and civil society.

"The adoption of [this new] organic bill (...) will enable our country to make the Economic and Social Council operational by proceeding with the appointment of its members," the government indicated in a press release.

The CES, it should be recalled, has the role of advising public institutions, especially the presidency and parliament, and helps draw economic and social policies. For many years, efforts have been mustered to launch the Council, as revealed by a recent mobilization of partners last May.

The government of Togo seeks firms to conduct feasibility studies focused on the digital sector, as part of preparations for a Compact program scheduled for end-2024. The related call for expertise was recently launched in partnership with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). 

CMC-Togo, the cell responsible for implementing the MCC’s Compact Program in Togo, steers the tender. Applicants, local and foreign firms, will be filtered based on the quality and cost of their proposals, which are due by December 4, 2023.

Selected in autumn 2022 for MCC Compact financing, Togo initiated an in-depth analysis of issues slowing its economic growth. Completed in February this year, the analysis revealed two key sectors requiring particular attention: the energy and digital sectors. The main challenges in the former include high costs and unreliability. In the latter, major bottlenecks, according to the study, include insufficient use of bandwidth and prohibitive service costs.

Based on the study’s conclusions, Togolese authorities want to determine the most appropriate investments to tackle identified challenges. In the energy sector, the government wants to improve production, transmission, and distribution. In the digital sector, the focus is on expanding connectivity and implementing interoperable payment systems and technological innovations.

Togo will present its priorities regarding climate change and ways to tackle it locally at the coming COP28 in Dubai. This year, the global meeting will be held in Dubai, UAE.

Speaking at the council of ministers on November 23, Foli Bazy-Katari, minister of environment, revealed some of the priorities the West African country plans on shedding light on at the COP28. These include projects that focus on best agroecological and water management practices. The country will also highlight its policy for building a climate-resilient, low-carbon economy, according to Bazy-Katari.

Like other participating States, Togo has set up its office and pavilion at the COP28 venue. These, the environment minister claims, will “ensure greater visibility of actions completed, underway, or planned by Togo, in its efforts to tackle climate change’s harmful effects.”

Ahead of the COP28, Togo has held several preparatory meetings attended by various players involved in the fight against climate change.

Togo opened on November 23, 2023, its first mall offering exclusively Made-in-Togo products. Named "Togo Mall", the facility was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé

Located within the Centre des Expositions et Foires (CETEF), the new mall offers a wide range of goods, including agri-food products, clothing, handicrafts, and household appliances.

The site will remain open throughout the year. The launch comes just a few weeks after the fourth edition of the Month of Local Consumption ended.

Togo will soon launch a new program to support people facing terrorism and security challenges. According to a decree issued last Thursday toward its implementation, the program is called the "Emergency Program to Strengthen Community Resilience and Security". The decree was issued during the Council of Ministers.

"The Emergency Program to Strengthen Community Resilience and Security aims to implement all actions to bolster populations’ resilience on all levels. [It] covers the whole country and specifically areas affected or threatened by acts of terrorism and violent extremism identified on the basis of threat levels,” reads the Council's report.

The program will provide social support to grassroots populations facing "grave threats", "terrorist attacks”, and "the increase in cross-border crime", in the north and Savanes regions especially. It is expected to build on existing initiatives, such as the Programme d'urgence pour la Région des Savanes (PURS). The latter recently secured CFA30 billion in funding from the Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement (BOAD).

The PURS produced promising results, including better access to water and rural electricity. In detail, the program helped extend access to drinking water to almost 80,000 new people, thus raising the rural coverage rate from 64% in 2021 to 73.5%. In the energy sector, with an average electricity access rate of 66%, rural electrification has also increased, with 15,000 additional households connected to electricity, raising the rate from 22% in 2021 to 27% in 2022. Finally, in the agricultural sector, the government claims to have developed over 1,000 hectares of lowlands, and distributed over 21,000 tonnes of food fertilizer, as well as supplying irrigation kits and building boreholes.

It should be emphasized that Togo’s Savanes region currently is in a state of security emergency, due to its exposure to terrorist attacks.

The African Chamber of Commerce and Services (CACS) of the Dakhla region (Morocco) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Togo (CCI -Togo) signed a partnership agreement on November 24, 2023. The agreement was signed by Nathalie Bitho, the president of the special delegation of the consular chamber of Togo, and Abdelmonaim Faouzi, the president of the CACS, on the sidelines of the "2nd AFRICA Executive Meeting" in Lomé, Togo.

The deal should strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between Togo and Morocco, in the Dakhla region especially. According to Nathalie Bitho, the agreement paves the way for “a better-nurtured business dynamic that is based on a win-win partnership”. 

Under the new partnership, economic operators from both countries will explore opportunities and invest in sectors like health, renewable energies, agriculture, tourism, and education.

Togo and Morocco are old-time partners. Last year, in July, the two countries reached a mutual agreement to suppress visas for ordinary passport holders. Morocco is Togo's fifth-largest trading partner in Africa. According to the CCI-Togo, in 2019, Togo imported slightly over CFA13 billion worth of goods from the Maghreb country, mainly fertilizers, electronic and electrical equipment, and agri-foodstuffs. In the same year, exports to the Cherifian Kingdom were valued at around CFA4 billion.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo should soon launch a project to build 21 bridges in its five regions, a project that aligns with the government’s strategy to open up rural areas. The project was presented last weekend at the Council of Ministers, by Kanfitine Issa Tchede, Minister of Rural Access and Rural Roads. 

Tchede, during his presentation, added that discussions were underway with companies specialized in building modular metal bridges.  The talks, according to the Minister, "have led to the identification of 21 uni-bridge modular steel-concrete composite bridges, to be built in the country's five regions".

The project, once completed, will allow people in rural parts of the country to easily access basic socio-economic services, and enable them to sell their agricultural produce.

The initiative, it should be noted, is backed by France with a €78 million financing. The related agreement was inked last June by the Togolese Minister of Economy and Finance, Sani Yaya, and the French Ambassador to Togo, Augustin Favereau.

This is in addition to €30 million from Team Europe, earmarked for the partial financing of the Programme d'Appui aux Pistes Rurales (PAPR II).

Esaïe Edoh

The AIFO–Association of Oilseed Industries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)- had their 23rd General Assembly last week in Lomé, Togo. During the meeting, the stakeholders discussed ways to make the region’s oilseed industries more competitive, dynamic, and modern. 

Among others, the participants also looked at the various bottlenecks that impede the oilseed industry’s growth. These include inter-country customs barriers, as well as the overwhelming presence of Asia-imported (legally and illegally) oils.

"There is therefore an urgent need to act and to take the necessary action to spur a new dynamic to clean up the industrial and commercial environments," alerted AIFO's first Vice President, Thierry Awesso, also Chairman and CEO of the Nouvelle industrie des oléagineux du Togo (NIOTO).

During the talks, the general managers of the AIFO's industrial units adopted strategies to tackle unfair competition. Commenting on this, Afawoubo Afi, a representative of Togo’s minister of trade said: "Togo will pay particular attention to the proposals and recommendations made". 

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the AIFO and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) as part of its large-scale food fortification project in West Africa (LSFF).

Created in 2000, the AIFO focuses on reducing poverty, supporting the oilseed processing industry, and maintaining technical cooperation between industrial companies across the WAEMU.

Esaïe Edoh