Togo First
Togo Launches New Operation on WAEMU Market, Seeks CFA30 billion
Togo just launched a simultaneous issuance of Treasury Bonds (OATs) and Treasury Bills (BATs) to borrow CFA30 billion on the regional stock exchange.
The operation closes next Friday, June 30, 2023. The treasury expects to raise CFA10 billion from sub-regional investors via the BATs with a face value of CFA1 million, issued over a maturity of 182 days and subject to multiple interest rates. The remaining CFA20 billion should be raised through OATs, with a face value of CFA10,000 at interest rates of 6% and 6.25%, over respective maturities of 3 and 5 years.
The State will use the money to finance its budget for the fiscal year 2023; a budget that stands at CFA1,957 billion.
So far this year, Togo has raised CFA294 billion on the WAEMU market. Its latest issue, which closed on June 16, was a success.
Esaïe Edoh
BOA-Togo: Businesses Have Until July 30th to Apply for CF2billion for the 100 Young Entrepreneurs Program
Entrepreneurs looking to apply for BOA’s CFA2 billion for the 100 Young Entrepreneurs project in Togo have until July 30 to do so. The lender announced the deadline last Thursday, June 22, on the sidelines of Meet Up 2, a gathering of young African success stories and entrepreneurs.
Turnover of SMEs and SMIs applying for BOA’s program must not exceed CFA300 million, and they should be at least 24 months old.
Applicants must submit innovative projects across various sectors; these projects must focus on advancing Togo’s economic development.
Businesses selected will get financing to enable them to expand their activity and boost their earnings.
Two months ago, the BOA received $77 million from the International Finance Corporation to cover half the risks on its loan portfolio targeting SMEs in 10 African countries, including Togo.
Esaïe Edoh
World Bank Confirms $100M Support for Upcoming Social Assistance Program in Togo
Last Friday, the World Bank confirmed it would pump $100 million into the ASTRE program in Togo. This is a social assistance program that aims to support extremely poor households in the country, with an emphasis on supporting women. The funds will be provided by the International Development Association (IDA).
Building on the lessons from the Novissi emergency cash transfer program, and also the IDA-financed Social Safety Nets and Basic Services Project, the ASTRE will enhance the resilience of the most disadvantaged people and break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
Under the program, every extremely poor resident–thus 1.8 million people in all–will get a cash transfer. And during crises, the program could support up to 250,000 households facing conflicts, and climatic, and health shocks.
By 2029, the ASTRE hopes to lift 1.24 million people out of poverty. To do so, Togo’s government will resort to new technologies and data exploitation. The technologies and data will help improve social service delivery across the country.
Among the planned initiatives is the creation of an interoperable social information system (SISI), which will be used to accurately identify beneficiaries and track their situation. All Togolese residents will obtain a unique and inclusive ID, as part of the project which is one of Lomé’s flagship projects.
A universal registration campaign for poor and vulnerable households in an evolving social registry is planned, with the ultimate goal of deepening the understanding of their socioeconomic situation and adjusting their aid eligibility.
Another major component of the ASTRE concerns cash payments. To facilitate the latter’s transfers, the authorities plan to set up a multi-program and multi-provider payment system.
As said before, the digital financial inclusion of women is one of the program’s top priorities. In this regard, incentives will be introduced to enable women’s designation as aid recipients within households.
Through the ASTRE, the World Bank hopes to boost the resilience of poor households and diversify their means of livelihood. It also hopes that the program will increase household incomes and reduce gender inequalities.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Ecobank Partners with Pan-African Payment and Settlement System to Facilitate Cross-Border Payments
The Lomé-based banking group Ecobank will rely on the network of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to facilitate its cross-border financial exchanges. The two sides inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on June 19, 2023, in this framework.
The agreement was signed by the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, and the Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Group, Jeremy Awori. The signing occurred during the opening ceremony of the 30th Annual Assembly of Afreximbank (AAM) held in Accra, Ghana.
The MoU will enable Ecobank and its subsidiaries to settle cross-border transactions via the PAPSS, a financial market infrastructure created by Afreximbank and AfCFTA.
The PAPSS network provides a secure and efficient channel for processing payments, thus promoting intra-African trade. The partnership will, effectively, help the lender speed up its money transfers across all 33 countries it covers. It will also ensure their transparency and compliance, under the supervision of regulators, according to PAPSS. Ecobank and PAPSS’ deal aligns with the African Union's vision to boost intra-African trade and economic integration by improving financial connectivity.
"Partnerships such as the one we have signed on PAPSS are crucial for the implementation and success of the AfCFTA as well as for financial integration and economic development on our continent. We are committed to the success of PAPSS and are pleased to bring our expertise in payments and collections, across the 33 markets where we operate in Africa," said Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group.
For his part, Mike Ogbalu III, CEO of PAPSS, welcomed his institution's cooperation with Ecobank, highlighting that it will transform the way Africans conduct their cross-border transactions.
The MoU should be implemented gradually, with the support of the Central Banks of the countries concerned. The service should be online by January 2024.
Togo seeks contractor to build a history museum in Kamina
A history museum will be built in the town of Kamina (20 km from Atakpame) and a tender was recently launched to hire the project’s developer. This was announced by Togo’s minister of culture, Kossi Lamadoko.
Financed by the State, the museum’s construction should take seven months, according to the ministry.
A former German military base, Kamina used to house a powerful transcontinental radio station and a wireless telegraph transmission center, connecting Berlin to the Namibian colony and the German fleet in the Atlantic. The site periodically hosted an art exhibition that attracted visitors and tourists.
To develop its tourism offer, Togo plans to rehabilitate several sites, including the Batamariba’s Koutammakou landscape. The latter project is expected to cost CFA3 billion. Koutammakou is known for its traditional mud tower houses, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Rehabilitating the landscape is part of Togo's broader efforts to attract tourists and showcase its rich cultural and historical heritage.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: MCC CEO meets President Gnassingbé and private sector representatives
Alice Albright, the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), is in Togo. She met with President Gnassingbe on June 20, 2023, in Lomé, the capital.
Je me suis entretenu ce jour avec Madame Alice Albright, @MCC_CEO, Directrice générale du Millenium Challenge Corporation.
— Faure E. GNASSINGBÉ (@FEGnassingbe) June 20, 2023
Nous avons, dans nos discussions, évoqué le programme Threshold qui vise à accompagner notre pays dans le domaine des Tics, les réformes foncières, ainsi… pic.twitter.com/wiJ9uJXCWb
The same day, Albright met with representatives of the Togolese private sector. Present at the meeting, the Togolese minister of investment, Rose Kayi Mivedor, told the US executive that Togo would leverage the MCC’s Compact Program to develop its ICT and energy industries, especially. The country became eligible for the Program last December.
“The challenges of energy and ICTs, especially their cost, quality, and accessibility, are undeniable and are real barriers to the growth of the Togolese economy. Therefore, it is with good reason that the projects chosen by the Togo government concern the aforementioned sectors,” said the Minister.
Two months ago, Togo landed a $12 million financing deal with the MCC for its Compact Program. The West African country, it is worth noting, already benefits from the Corporation’s Threshold program. With a value of $35 million, the latter is deployed in the land and ICT sectors.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo to Soon Implement a National Public Procurement Policy as Part of Ongoing Reforms
Several procurement experts and stakeholders gathered in Lomé on June 20 to appraise and validate Togo’s national procurement policy. The move aligns with the Togolese authorities’ efforts to reform the procurement sector.
This reform should, according to the country’s procurement watchdog, the ARCOP, help boost the local economy, by enhancing access to procurement and its management.
The policy "includes measures and proposals designed to strengthen the place of public procurement in the Togolese economy," said ARCOP General Manager Aftar Touré Morou.
At the two-day meeting, the minister and secretary general of the Presidency was represented by René Kapou. The policy, according to the representative, will help Togo “make procurement a major catalyst of its economic revitalization.”
The national policy’s development aligns with the government’s ambition to bolster the legal framework for public procurement and public-private partnership contracts.
Esaïe Edoh
Islamic Development Bank, IsDB, Supports Togo's Universal Health Care Policy with CFA38 Billion Financing
The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) will back Togo’s universal healthcare policy with CFA38 billion. The money will be devoted to the PR4SP, a project aiming to bolster the country’s health system and primary health care. The project was launched on June 20, 2023, in Lomé, by the Ministry of Health.
The PR4SP is a four-year project that involves building and rehabilitating nearly 30 maternity wards and purchasing equipment and rolling stock for health training.
The project should help Togo better fight communicable diseases, improve governance in the health sector, and help keep main communicable diseases (HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria) and snakebites under control.
According to Midamegbe Akakpo, the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Health, the project “aligns with the government's vision, which emphasizes a quality care system that is accessible to all.”
In the past few years, Lomé took several steps to improve access to healthcare across the nation. One of the other projects that aligns with this goal is the Universal Health Insurance (AMU) project, which the government is working on.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: ILO Director-General Praises Lomé's Inclusion Policy in Meeting with Togo's Prime Minister
Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé, the Prime Minister of Togo, attended the International Labour Organization (ILO) Summit on Social Justice in Geneva, Switzerland, last week. On the occasion, she had bilateral discussions and working sessions with many key stakeholders, including Gilbert Foussoun Houngbo, the ILO's Director-General, and former Togolese Prime Minister.
While meeting his compatriot, Houngbo praised the inclusion policy initiated by the government. "It is a great and special honor for me to welcome my compatriot, Her Excellency Mrs. Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé, Prime Minister. Togo has firmly embarked on the path of sustainable development based on the values of the ILO," said Gilbert Foussoun Houngbo.
"The current preparation of a social stability pact for inclusive growth is the latest demonstration of this. The effects of this commitment at the highest level of the State are visible, with a poverty rate that has significantly declined between 2006 and 2022," he added.
PM Tomégah-Dogbé also met with Mia Seppo, Assistant to the Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO). The two discussed Togo's commitment to the Social Protection Floor initiative.
President Gnassingbé to Attend The Global Financial Pact Summit in Paris
Togo’s President, Faure Gnassingbé, should be in Paris on June 22 and 23, for the New Global Financial Pact Summit.
Initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron, the Summit will cover the global debt system. It will gather several African and World Presidents, senior executives from financial and development institutions such as the World Bank, and dozens of NGOs.
Mostly, the event aims to modernize the international financial architecture established by the Bretton Woods agreements in 1944, which led to the formation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. High-level debates between Heads of State and governments, international organization leaders, civil society representatives, foundations, funds, and the private sector are planned.
Overall, nearly 100 Heads of State and governments, 40 international organizations, and more than 120 NGOs and NGO coalitions are expected.
Faure Gnassingbé was in Paris a few weeks ago at Macron's invitation. The two leaders took the opportunity to discuss bilateral cooperation and security challenges in the West African region.