Togo First
Togo and Burkina Faso Step Up Coordination on Lomé-Ouagadougou Corridor
Togo and Burkina Faso are stepping up cooperation to improve traffic flow along the Lomé-Ouagadougou corridor, a key route for sub-regional transit spanning more than 1,000 km.
Officials from both countries met in Lomé last weekend with transport and logistics stakeholders to address persistent constraints affecting the corridor.
Several factors are undermining the corridor's competitiveness, including road harassment, bureaucratic delays and an aging vehicle fleet.
Discussions highlighted multiple bottlenecks, notably demurrage charges imposed on shippers, procedural delays, limited storage capacity at the port and a shortage of handling equipment.
Participants also flagged truck congestion, inadequate parking for heavy goods vehicles and security concerns at the port.
Other corridor-specific issues include unofficial fees, a proliferation of checkpoints and additional levies that continue to drive up logistics costs.
After outlining these challenges, both sides committed to strengthening coordination.
Togo said it is working on measures to clarify responsibility for delays and improve transparency in freight management.
Togolese Transport Minister Komlan Kadjé stressed the route's strategic importance. "Road transport is an instrument of development and regional integration," he said, adding that efforts would continue to "improve and above all facilitate" transit between Lomé and Ouagadougou.
The talks are expected to lead to a formal consultation framework to monitor reforms and improve corridor performance.
Burkina Faso, a landlocked West African country, relies heavily on the Port of Lomé for its imports. At the sub-regional level, it was Togo's largest export destination and second overall, accounting for 10.4% of Togolese exports, ahead of Côte d'Ivoire at 9.1% and Ghana at 6.8%.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo’s meat self-sufficiency reaches 68% in 2025, led by poultry growth
Togo's livestock sector continues to expand despite persistent constraints. The share of domestic meat demand met by local production reached 68% in 2025, up from 65% a year earlier, according to the 2026 Citizens' Budget.
Authorities expect the trend to continue. For 2026, the government is targeting a 70% self-sufficiency rate, supported by tax measures including an exemption on imported animal feed announced for January 2026.
Growth was broad-based across segments, though uneven. The poultry sector remained the main driver, with output reaching 41.7 million birds in 2025, up 8% from 38.6 million in 2024.
Small ruminants also recorded steady gains. The goat population rose to 6.86 million head in 2025 from 6.36 million a year earlier, while sheep numbers increased to 2.37 million. Projections for 2026 point to growth of 8.2% and 6.5%, respectively.
By contrast, the cattle segment expanded only marginally, with the herd reaching 487,984 head, up 1%.
Productivity gains remain closely tied to vaccination coverage, a key determinant of herd health. However, 2025 data show uneven progress.
Vaccination against small ruminant plague rose to 65.2%. Coverage for Newcastle disease, a highly contagious poultry infection, fell to 67.9% from 92.2% in 2024.
Fish production showed signs of volatility. After peaking at 36,251 metric tons in 2025, output is projected to decline to 33,977 metric tons in 2026. The government is relying on industrialization of the sector and improved access to inputs to stabilize production and meet its food sovereignty targets under the 2025 government roadmap.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Lome to Host Inaugural Pan-African Banking and Insurance Forum on Oct. 26-27
Lome will host the first BankAssur Forum & Awards, a pan-African conference focused on financial inclusion, on Oct. 26-27.
The event, organized by the Forum des marchés financiers en Afrique, will bring together public officials, financial institutions and investors to discuss access to financial services.
Under the theme "Finance for All," the forum aims to foster dialogue among banks, insurers and fintechs as business models evolve. "The convergence of banking and insurance is no longer optional, it is a strategic imperative," said Bertrand Eba, chairman of the organizing committee.
The organizing committee said Togo was selected because of its progress in financial inclusion. With financial inclusion above 80% and strong mobile money penetration, Lome is emerging as a hub for industry players. Challenges remain, however, including access to credit for small and medium-sized enterprises and limited banking access for parts of the population.
The Lome gathering aims to address those challenges by offering solutions tailored to local conditions. Discussions will cover the digitalization of financial services, regulation, fintech innovation and the development of inclusive insurance products.
The program includes panels, training sessions, a virtual financial marketplace and a segment on the country's investment attractiveness. A gala dinner will recognize the most innovative initiatives in the banking and insurance sectors.
R.E.D
Togo to increase cotton fertilizer purchases by 15% in 2026
Togo plans to spend 5.8 billion CFA francs in 2026 to fund fertilizer purchases for the cotton sector, the Ministry of Finance and Budget said in its annual Citizens' Budget.
The funds will be used to purchase 21,000 metric tons of fertilizer for cotton farmers.
The Plateaux region will receive the largest allocation, at 7,600 metric tons, or just over a third of the total. The ministry said this reflects the region's share of national cotton production.
Kara and Savanes will receive 6,500 metric tons and 5,000 metric tons, respectively, while Maritime and Centrale will receive 1,000 metric tons and 900 metric tons.
The 2026 procurement target is up 15% from 2025, when 18,191 metric tons were distributed, according to data from the Nouvelle Société Cotonnière du Togo (NSCT).
The increased supply is expected to support a production target of 92,500 metric tons of seed cotton for the 2025-2026 season. National output has remained below 60,000 metric tons since Singaporean group Olam took control of the sector in 2020.
Output has improved in recent seasons, reaching 67,000 metric tons in 2023-2024 before falling to 60,403 metric tons in 2024-2025.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo Exceeds Bond Target as Strong Demand Drives 4x Oversubscription
Togo raised 33 billion CFA francs on the WAEMU regional financial market on Friday, exceeding an initial target of 30 billion.
According to official results seen by Togo First, investor demand was strong, with total bids reaching 120.7 billion CFA francs, a bid-to-cover ratio of 4.02 times. The Togolese Treasury accepted 33 billion CFA francs, entirely through Treasury bonds (OATs).
The issuance included 20 billion CFA francs in three-year bonds at a fixed rate of 6.15%. Five-year bonds accounted for 10 billion CFA francs at 6.35%, while seven-year bonds raised 3 billion CFA francs at 6.50%.
This is Togo’s third issuance on the regional market since the start of 2026, bringing total funds raised to 82.5 billion CFA francs. For 2026, the government aims to raise 463.5 billion CFA francs to help finance a budget set at 2.751 trillion CFA francs.
Esaïe Edoh
BCEAO sets June 30 deadline for operators to join instant payment platform
The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) is accelerating the rollout of its interoperable instant payment platform, known as PI-SPI, across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).
Banks, electronic money institutions, microfinance institutions and payment service providers have until June 30, 2026, to complete their connection to the system, the central bank said.
Launched on Sept. 30, 2025, the PI-SPI platform enables round-the-clock transactions. It is designed to facilitate instant digital payments between financial institutions across the bloc while reducing transaction costs and processing times.
As of April 2, 2026, 80 institutions across the region were already connected, including 59 banks, nine electronic money institutions, 11 microfinance institutions and one payment service provider. An additional 42 institutions are conducting live tests and aim to go live soon.
The BCEAO urged all relevant institutions to speed up their technical and administrative preparations ahead of the deadline, to ensure full regional coverage and effective access to services.
The initiative forms part of UEMOA’s broader strategy to modernise its financial infrastructure. It aims to boost financial inclusion by expanding access to payment services for individuals and businesses.
While interoperability in digital payments is expected to support economic activity within the bloc, the announcement also points to a more assertive stance by the BCEAO to accelerate adoption. This reflects reluctance among some operators due to structural and economic constraints.
In the long term, interoperability could help create a unified payments market within UEMOA, reduce costs, improve financial inclusion and strengthen economic integration. Despite growth in electronic payments, the ecosystem remains fragmented across banks, fintechs and mobile operators.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo receives CFA1.6B Chinese rice donation to support food security
China has donated 2,525 tons of rice to Togo to support the country’s food security efforts. The shipment, valued at 20 million yuan (about 1.6 billion CFA francs), was handed to Togolese authorities on Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Lomé.
This is the second rice shipment China has sent to help Togo tackle hunger, following a previous delivery in 2024. The initiative stems from commitments made at the 9th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit held in Beijing in 2024, where China pledged emergency food assistance to African countries.
“The people are the foundation of the state, and food is the people’s most basic necessity,” said Wang Min, China’s ambassador to Togo. He added that the donation supports Togo’s efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2, which aims to end hunger and ensure access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food.
China has also organized training sessions in tropical agricultural technologies in Togo over the past two years to build local capacity, boost production and strengthen agricultural resilience.
Togo also receives rice donations from Japan, including through the Kennedy Round food program.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Bloomfield outlines risk profile, sees reform-linked investment potential
Rating agency Bloomfield Investment held its first "Country Risk–Togo" conference on Thursday at the Hôtel 2 Février in Lomé. The event focused on an analytical report assessing Togo across five parameters: macroeconomic performance, the business environment, the financial system, the sociopolitical climate and public finance management.
The evaluation placed Togo in the moderate risk category, with a score of 5.9 out of 10.
"We assessed macroeconomic performance, the business environment, the financial system, the sociopolitical environment and public finance management," said Stanislas Zézé, chief executive of Bloomfield. He added that the result "reflects some shortcomings without significant impact," citing the trade deficit and public debt as the main concerns.
Risks Identified, Reforms Expected
Despite the vulnerabilities flagged, the report's conclusions remain measured. "Even if there are some areas of risk that we have highlighted, it does not deter investment — on the contrary," Zézé said, pointing to favorable prospects contingent on reforms.
Togolese authorities have, according to the agency, expressed their commitment to addressing the identified weaknesses. The aim is to strengthen economic fundamentals and move the country toward a lower risk category.
Panel discussions at the conference covered economic performance, industrialization, entrepreneurship and the security environment. The event aimed to bring public and private stakeholders together around a shared understanding of the market.
Beyond the rating itself, Bloomfield positions the initiative as a decision-making tool. The agency said it hopes to answer key investor questions, particularly around expected returns and the risk of losing capital.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo rolls out infrastructure mapping platform for public and industry use
Togo on Thursday launched a one-stop platform for mapping infrastructure, alongside the deployment of a national RTK correction network known as CENTIPOS. The launch took place in Lomé and was presided over by Cina Lawson, minister of digital economy and digital transformation.
Authorities described the platform as a key digital tool designed to centralize data on existing infrastructure across the country. They said the initiative marks a step forward in modernizing infrastructure management.
The platform is intended to improve coordination of construction works, prevent damage to existing installations and optimize project planning.
It addresses a recurring issue in Togo: the lack of a reliable, shared system for mapping existing networks. Each year, road, energy and telecommunications works damage underground or overhead installations that are not accurately mapped, causing disruptions to essential services such as electricity, drinking water and electronic communications.
These incidents, which are costly for operators, businesses and users, highlight the limits of a fragmented system. By centralizing information, the platform provides an up-to-date overview accessible to all stakeholders, including construction firms, network operators and public administrations.
The system combines two tools: a national web platform to visualize infrastructure, plan works and coordinate operations, and a mobile application enabling field teams to collect and update data in real time.
It operates in four stages: prior declaration of planned works, analysis of network interactions, execution of works with precise location tracking, and automatic data updates after project completion.
To ensure this level of precision, the system relies on CENTIPOS, a national network of 25 reference stations capable of locating infrastructure within a centimeter. Position corrections are transmitted in real time via mobile networks.
Beyond infrastructure, the system is expected to support other sectors, including land registry, precision agriculture and environmental mapping.
“This precision is a game changer. It supports our digitalization strategy to improve governance and public service efficiency,” Lawson said.
With this system, Togo is reinforcing its digital transformation agenda and strengthening infrastructure governance, with a focus on efficiency and sustainability, the government said.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo clears accession to two international nuclear safety conventions
Togo’s cabinet on Wednesday adopted two draft laws authorizing the country’s accession to two major international legal instruments, marking a further step in strengthening its nuclear safety framework.
The texts relate to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, adopted in Vienna on June 17, 1994, and the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, adopted on May 21, 1963.
The move aims to improve the management of nuclear-related risks and better protect people and the environment from the effects of ionizing radiation, while reinforcing accident prevention at civilian nuclear installations.
The Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage will provide a harmonized framework for compensation. It sets out operators’ obligations regarding insurance and financial guarantees and defines the rules applicable in the event of damage, including jurisdiction and compensation procedures.
The initiative is part of broader reforms introduced by Togolese authorities in recent years. In 2020, the country adopted a law on the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear energy, followed by the establishment of the National Authority for Nuclear Safety and Security.
Separately, since September 2025, Togo has held a seat on the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), strengthening its role in global nuclear governance.
Esaïe Edoh