The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) launched the 2024 edition of the "Startup Innovation Challenge" last weekend in Lomé. Project submissions are open until September 18.

This competition aims to support Togolese digital startups by promoting innovative technological solutions for local challenges. The UNDP seeks projects that can significantly impact communities and industries.

At the end of the challenge, up to 10 innovators will be selected in specific fields such as digital, human services, agritech, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and logistical conservation services for local produce, with a focus on perishable fruit and vegetables. Each winner will receive funding to develop their project. The agency is also committed to providing these innovators with resources and platforms to test, prototype, and refine their ideas.

This year, the challenge, which focuses on creating solutions that meet local community needs, is organized in collaboration with the University of Lomé. Since its launch in 2019, the initiative has supported over 50 startups, primarily led by women, to benefit from UNDP support in Togo.

Esaïe Edoh

Audiovisual regulators of WAEMU States and Guina (PRA-UEMOA-GUINEE) are gathered in Lomé for their 11th General Assembly. The roundtable kicked off yesterday and ends today. Its theme is: "Effective implementation of DTT in Platform member countries: state of play, proposals and strategies for action in the face of delay."

One of the key highlights of the meeting will be the confirmation of Pitalounani Telou as the new boss of the PRA-UEMOA-GUINEE. If confirmed, Telou, who currently heads Togo’s communication and audiovisual watchdog, will take over from Rémi Moretti.

The Assembly will also address regulation issues relating to communication across the WAEMU. These discussions are part of the 2023-2024 Action Plan adopted in Cotonou at the previous General Assembly.

Esaïe Edoh

Togolese authorities plan to launch a major cleanup operation for the Gbaga channel, a natural border with Benin. Both countries will be involved. 

Set to cost CFA4.7 billion, the cleanup is part of the WACA ResIP Coastal Resilience Program. The latter aims to reduce flooding risks and improve the quality of life for riverside communities.

The 30 km-long Gbaga channel faces silting, pollution, and erosion.

Its dredging, which is expected to take nine months, will include mowing and sediment excavation. These will follow environmental and social impact studies.

TC MARINES/ZILLA GROUP and the INROS LACKNER/ DECO IC/ IGIP/ Afrique consortium will carry out and monitor the project.

Surrounding residents were informed about the project a month ago, via a radio program launched by WACA in Togo. 

The dredging project aims to curb growing environmental pressures on the wetland and bolster climate resilience living conditions in the Lacs 1 and Lacs 2 municipalities.

"These works aim to reduce flooding and improve navigation while creating thousands of jobs for young people. Cooperation from riverside populations is essential for the success of this initiative," noted Dr. Alimi Adou Rahim, WACA ResIP program coordinator in Togo.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The Togolese Federation of Soybean Cooperatives (Fédération Nationale des Coopératives Productrices de Soja –FNCPS-Togo) has a new president. Elected during a general meeting on August 26, Daloli Mimbouab replaced former chairman Kadzakadè Komlan. He will lead a nine-member board for a three-year term.

Under the previous president, soybean production increased from about 40,000 tonnes in 2018 to nearly 300,000 tonnes today. Cited by Agence Togolaise de Presse (ATOP), Mimbouab expressed gratitude for the trust placed in her and promised to address producers' concerns and strengthen the industry. The new board will receive support from a supervisory board led by Tibé Bassinani.

Monday’s general meeting concluded with an agreement between the FNCPS-Togo and the Togolese Association of Soybean Processors (ATTS) to ensure the availability of seed soybeans for processing units. The partnership aims to enhance the agro-industry in Togo.

Established on March 18, 2018, the FNCPS-Togo aims to boost soybean production and sales in collaboration with key players like the Conseil Interprofessionnel de la Filière Soja du Togo (CIFS-Togo). The FNCPS helps its members get inputs, credit, and training in good production practices while promoting group sales of their products.

The universities of Lomé and Kara are embarking on a process to facilitate student transfer between them. A brainstorming workshop in Lomé, ending August 28, 2024, focuses on harmonizing curricula and student mobility within Togo's public universities.

The goal is to standardize teaching unit content and establish harmonized diploma criteria. At the end of this process, the universities will adopt a common LMD (Licence (Bachelor) - Master (Master's) - Doctorat (PhD)) procedures manual, map training offerings, and develop a pedagogical framework using new technologies.

In addition, the institutions will identify fundamental teaching units for academic paths, assessment forms, and syllabus writing guides. They will formulate proposals to facilitate bachelor's student mobility and develop harmonized syllabi.

Togo's public universities hope to revise texts to allow student supervision by a university lecturer to count at the home institution.

According to Professor Komlan Batawila, 1st Vice President of the University of Lomé, "the importance of this initiative is to guarantee the degree equivalence and recognition while offering students new  academic exchange opportunities."

Professor Kokou Tchariè, President of the University of Kara, emphasized the need to draw on the University of Lomé's expertise to improve training quality. Professor Adama Mawulé Kpodar, President of the University of Lomé, affirmed this harmonization reflects both institutions' commitment to meeting contemporary employment, digitalization, and globalization challenges. It aligns with Togo's authorities' desire to pool resources at the public university level.

Esaïe Edoh

The municipalities of Cinkassé 1 and Tandjoaré 1, northern Togo, have updated their Communal Development Plans (CDP). This decision came on August 26, 2024, in Cinkassé, located 650 km north of Lomé.

Previously, the CDPs did not address security issues but now they do. The revision incorporated insights from the National Strategy to Prevent and Combat Violent Extremism (NSPCVE).

The revised CDPs will focus on municipalities’ vulnerabilities and include actions to prevent and combat violent extremism. Plan International, with support from the European Union, will provide technical and financial assistance through the "Pillar Rapid Response" project. 

The latter aims to better prevent violent extremism, promote social cohesion, and improve community resilience in the Savanes region.

Other municipalities, including Kpendjal 1, Kpendjal 2, Kpendjal Ouest 1, Oti 2, and Oti Sud 2, will also revise their CDPs to address similar security threats.

Esaïe Edoh

The Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor Foundation (SEA), in partnership with UNDP, supplied startup kits to 30 young Togolese agripreneurs last weekend. The kits were donated at the SEA’s headquarters in Lavié (140 km northwest of Lomé).

With the kits, beneficiaries will be able to start their business, and consequently create jobs. 

Before receiving the kits, the agripreneurs underwent two months of intensive training at the SEA’s headquarters. They acquired skills in market gardening, poultry and small ruminant rearing, and cassava production and processing. They were also trained in farm management techniques, business plan writing, and investor advocacy.

Besides these, the Foundation and its partners will conduct regular on-site visits to monitor the beneficiaries' activities and identify their needs and prospects.

The recent support between SEA and UNDP aims to boost youth employment in Togo's agricultural sector. Also, it aligns with Adebayor’s vision of leveraging agribusiness to drive youth employment across the country.

Esaïe Edoh

A few months ago, Nigeria stopped accepting degrees issued by Togolese and Beninese universities. A move resulting from a shocking investigation.

The University of Lomé, Kara, and the Catholic University of West Africa (UCAO) are the only three Togolese universities issuing degrees recognized by the Nigerian government. 

Before the recent disclosure, Nigeria had stopped accepting degrees issued by all Togolese and Beninese universities; a decision taken after an investigation found that over 22,000 fake degrees had been issued to Nigerians studying in Benin and Togo–21,000 in Benin and 1,000 in Togo.

According to Nigerian Education Minister, Tahir Mamman, the ban has been partially lifted. Now, he said degrees from only eight universities (three in Togo and five in Benin) are accepted. Meanwhile, Kenya, Uganda, and Niger also face scrutiny from Nigeria.

Togo's higher education authorities are yet to comment on these developments. A few months ago, soon after the investigation’s findings were made public, Togolese authorities started negotiations with the Nigerian side. At the time, Togo blamed non-accredited or closed private universities that issued false diplomas.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi