Togo First
World Investment Forum: President Gnassingbe explores investment partnerships with WAIPA
At the 8th World Investment Forum held in Abu Dhabi, Faure Gnassingbé, President of Togo, met with Dushyant Thakor, Deputy Executive Director of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA).
According to the Togolese Presidency, this was an opportunity to explore partnership opportunities between Togo and WAIPA, toward greater investment in the country.
At the end of the meeting, Dushyant Thakor said he was convinced there were opportunities in Togo, and he reiterated the WAIPA’s commitment to supporting the policy of structural transformation of the Togolese economy.
"We shared with the President of the Republic, some examples from different parts of the world. This is, again, a commitment that is just beginning and we will work over the coming months to make Togo a wonderful place to do business and with more investment," he said.
WAIPA is an international organization created in 1995 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), bringing together investment promotion agencies.
President Gnassingbé also received Ziad Alexandre Hayek, President of the World Association of Public-Private Partnership Units (WAPPP), and they talked about mobilizing the private sector to implement the social infrastructure projects of the Togo 2025 government roadmap.
President Gnassingbe supports strategic State dynamic at the World Investment Leaders Summit
How can the challenges of sustainable development be tackled to make people more resilient? Faure Gnassingbé, the President of Togo, shared his take on this issue on October 16, 2023, at the ongoing World Investment Leaders Summit in Abu Dhabi.
The Togolese leader stressed that for national economies to develop, the dynamic of the strategic State must be supported. This, he believes, would spur investments, via public-private partnerships, that meet rising challenges.
"The heart of my talk today is about the medium-term role of the State, which I'll call a strategist. It is the in-depth work on the role of the State which, by 2030, will enable us to fully realize our investment ambitions and through public-private partnerships," Faure Gnassingbé said in his speech.
His vision is based on his vision for Togo, which involves opening up the country to investors from all horizons, to finance key projects of the government's roadmap (Togo 2025).
Gnassingbé maintains that "this vision has enabled the advent of a fruitful partnership with the private sector for the development of an industrial platform (the PIA, editor's note) in the northern suburbs of Lomé, the capital."
Opening up the country to public-private partnerships has also helped complete top-priority projects in the energy sector, such as solar power plants and many other large-scale projects.
Convinced of the positive impacts of "a strategic State" and Togo's convincing results, Faure Gnassingbé urged technical and financial partners "to adhere to this new dynamic and support the budgetary capacities of African countries so that they can fully play their roles as strategic States."
Esaïe Edoh
World Bank commitments to Togo increased five-fold between 2018 and now
So far into this year, the World Bank has committed $1,134.63 million in Togo, up about 381% compared to $238 million in 2018. This was disclosed by Sandra Johnson, Minister, Secretary General of the Presidency (photo) in charge of the country’s Business Climate Cell. The official spoke on the sidelines of a meeting last week with Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice-President for West and Central Africa. The meeting was held in Marrakech, Morocco, as part of the 2023 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF.
The leap in financial commitment was yielded by the significant improvement in Togo's Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) score. From 3 in 2016, this figure rose to 3.7 in 2022, which is the biggest increase on the index in Africa.
The CPIA is a key indicator of the quality of a country's policies and institutions. This score’s improvement has led to a significant increase in World Bank allocations, said Sandra Johnson. Togo is also in first place in terms of disbursement rate within the Bank group, she added.
Johnson attributes the increase in allocations to a battery of structural and institutional reforms implemented since 2018. These reforms, in her opinion, have not only improved governance indicators but also created a favorable environment for investment and sustainable development.
Now, the Togolese government is committed to maintaining the upward momentum, thus ensuring the quality and effectiveness of future projects, by setting stricter criteria. Simply put, Togo wants to capitalize on its achievements to set its development on a sustainable and inclusive trajectory, stressed Sandra Johnson: "We have agreed not only to redouble our efforts in our current actions but also to put in place more rigorous criteria to guarantee the quality of our projects.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo: Social nets and basic services project covers 15,000 homes in the Plateaux region
In Togo’s Plateaux region, around 15,000 homes across 157 villages have benefited from the Social Nets and Basic Services project (Filets Sociaux et Service de Base or FSB) so far. This was revealed on October 11, by Katanga Mazalo, Managing Director of the ANADEB, the project's operational arm. According to the Togolese press agency, ATOP, Mazalo disclosed the figure during an assessment visit conducted in Edouhoué, Asrama district, by a joint delegation of the World Bank and the French Development Agency (AFD), which co-finance the project alongside the government.
Quoting the official, the ATOP reported that as part of the project, no fewer than 125,000 households, across the country, are given individual cash transfers of CFA15,000 every quarter, over 18 months. The project has also enabled the construction of 20 school buildings, 10 photovoltaic boreholes, the rehabilitation of 3 peripheral healthcare units, the upgrading of 5 rural tracks, and the creation of 3 community centers.
During the recent visit, the people of Edouhoé talked with the World Bank-AFD delegation about steps for selecting beneficiary households, as well as details of the construction process for the infrastructure financed by the project.
While the Mayor of Commune Haho 2, Ayidoté Sossou, emphasized the local population's mastery of contract award procedures and expressed his gratitude to the partners for their trust, Julian Koschorke, head of the World Bank delegation, praised the participatory development process implemented in Edouhoé and reaffirmed his institution's commitment to continue financing local projects.
Together, the AFD, the World Bank, and the government of Togo injected CFA1.056 billion into the FSB project.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: Lebanese businesses active in the free-trade zone invested CFA154 billion in 2022
Lebanese companies active in Togo’s free-trade zone invested about CFA154 billion in the country in 2022. According to the Investment and Free Zone Promotion Agency (API-ZF), which compiled the statistics, these businesses created 8,723 jobs for nationals.
These figures were unveiled on Oct. 10, by the minister of investment promotion, Manualla Santos. This was during a meeting with the association of Lebanese business owners of Togo; a meeting held as part of the ministry’s "Investors Breakfast". The meeting took place at the 2 Février hotel in Lomé.
Santos and her team seized the opportunity to present the entrepreneurs with the government’s efforts to improve Togo’s business climate and to cover bottlenecks that slow the Lebanese delegation in their investment and reinvestment. They were also introduced to some projects falling under the government's roadmap. These included energy, agriculture (processing of agricultural raw materials, mechanization), classroom construction, social housing, and tourism projects.
It is worth noting that the recent edition of the Investors Breakfast is the second meeting. The event aims to mobilize local and foreign actors around investment projects in the country. The first edition brought together Togo's business community, bringing together representatives of lawyers, architects, notaries, and customs declarants.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
African Microfinance Week: Over 1,300 experts and stakeholders expected in Lomé
Over 1,300 experts and stakeholders of the microfinance sector should attend the sixth edition of the African Microfinance Week (AMW). Set to take place in Lomé, from October 16 to 20, the event’s theme is: "Towards inclusive and sustainable finance".
"Experts and players in the microfinance sector, from some sixty countries, in Africa and other parts of the world, are expected in Togo to reflect on the development of this sector in which our country has achieved appreciable performance, occupying first place in the WAEMU, in terms of financial inclusion rate,” reads the report of the latest council of ministers of Togo, held on October 11.
The African Microfinance Week is a biennial event that promotes financial inclusion in Africa. Organized by the network of African microfinance institutions, with the support of the Togolese government, via the Ministry of Financial Inclusion, the event will feature talks on hurdles hampering inclusive finance on the continent.
Participants will explore ways to develop the sector; a sector which has experienced significant growth in Togo.
During the coming event, there will also be high-level conferences, networking opportunities, specialized training courses, and an investor fair aimed at improving access to financial services for those who are excluded from traditional financial systems.
According to the Togolese minister for financial inclusion and the informal sector, Mazamesso Assih, the meeting will also be an opportunity to highlight and share Togo's experience with other countries regarding microfinance.
Faure Gnassingbe’s country bests all its WAEMU peers when it comes to financial inclusion. With a penetration rate of 85.72% in 2022 (against 82.72% in 2021), Togo is ahead of Benin (85.52%) and Côte d'Ivoire (82.2%).
This week, Lomé hosted the SME Champions Forum, a pan-African gathering of financial, banking, and entrepreneurial players focusing on SMEs.
Togo announces upcoming reforms to modernize its oil and gas industry
The Togolese Ministry of Mining and Energy has several reforms in the pipeline to modernize these sectors, at the national level. The reforms were introduced by Mila Aziable, Minister of Mining and Energy, last Wednesday, during the council of ministers.
According to Aziable, the reforms should involve government players, municipalities, and the private sector.
One of the main reforms planned in the oil and gas sector is "Updating the regulatory and legislative framework in the oil and gas sector and drawing up a national plan for opening gas stations which will ensure even distribution (ed. Note: of oil and gas products) throughout the national territory,” said the government.
Reforms projected in the mining sector are focused on protecting the environment and local communities.
In this area, the authorities will make sure to involve local authorities in the process of granting operating permits, and all initiatives aimed at deterring illegal quarrying.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: Social Security Fund joins Health Insurance Institute on the national health insurance project
The National Health Insurance Institute of Togo (INAM) is no longer the sole manager of the Universal Health Insurance (UHI) project in the country. The National Social Security Fund (CNSS) has joined it, following the examination and adoption of a decree on October 11, 2023, at a Council of Ministers meeting.
According to the Ministers, associating the CNSS with the project should “accelerate the operationalization of the universal health insurance and broaden the scope of insured persons.”
After the recent development, the Universal Health Insurance project now takes into account three categories of beneficiaries: public and assimilated employees, private sector workers, and vulnerable persons. Expanding the pool of the insured, according to the government, "calls for the adoption of a new architecture, with an implementation strategy that leverages, not only the INAM's experience but also that of CNSS, relative to social protection management.”
The CNSS will, specifically, manage universal health insurance for salaried employees and pensioners in the private sector, self-employed workers in the informal and agricultural sectors, and religious ministers.
Meanwhile, the INAM will manage the universal health insurance scheme for civil servants and those receiving civil and military pensions. It will also cover vulnerable individuals and households.
The Universal Health Insurance project is set to launch on January 1, 2024. Ahead of its operationalization, the council of ministers adopted on October 4, 2023, several decrees structuring the project, with the aim of “guaranteeing wider access to healthcare for the population.”
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Sandra Johnson in Morocco for World Bank-IMF annual meetings
Togo is taking part in the ongoing annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Marrakech, Morocco. The Togolese delegation is led by Sandra Ablamba Johnson, Minister Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic and Country Governor of the World Bank.
The delegation is meeting with bilateral partners to find ways to boost employment, gender equality, and climate action in Togo, as well as discuss how the World Bank could intervene in times of crisis or emergency.
Last Monday, Johnson and her team met with Sergio Pimenta, Vice-President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC). "This bilateral meeting between the Togolese delegation and the IFC offered an opportunity to examine in detail current initiatives, notably the financing of social sectors such as health and housing," Sandra Johnson said.
The delegation also talked with the World Bank's Vice-President for West and Central Africa, Ousmane Diagana, who praised Togo for its "recent exceptional performance".
“At the meeting, the World Bank Group warmly congratulated our country on its recent outstanding performance. More specifically for the fiscal year 2023, our nation has distinguished itself by occupying: first place in disbursement rate at Group level and first position in terms of CPIA progression rate,” Sandra Johnson declared.
Esaïe Edoh
West Africa: OCP Group and World Bank partner to boost food security and agriculture in Togo, and three more
Morocco’s OCP Group and the World Bank have signed, on Oct. 11, a partnership agreement to boost food security and agriculture in West Africa.
The agreement, a memorandum of understanding, was signed by Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice President for West and Central Africa, and OCP Group Chairman Mostafa Terrab in Morocco.
In detail, the deal will support programs targeting five million farmers in Togo, Benin, Guinea, and Mali, over ten million hectares. It will also speed up investments and reforms aimed at helping farmers access fertilizers, more easily and at cheaper prices
The agreement will focus on improving soil health and fertility, training small farmers, developing digital agriculture programs, building ECOWAS capacity, and creating a Regional Soil Health Center for West Africa, among others.
"This partnership between the World Bank and OCP Group puts the Lomé Declaration into action.", said Ousmane Diagana, adding that "our two institutions believe in the need to accelerate reforms and investments for resilient agriculture, the promotion of sustainable development and job creation."
Read also: Togo inks agreement with Morocco to set up a local phosphate fertilizer factory
"This project is a crucial step in unlocking Africa's potential for global food security," said Mostafa Terrab, Chairman and CEO of OCP Group. "The aim is to foster an equitable and sustainable agricultural transition by giving West African farmers access to specially designed fertilizers to improve their yields and incomes, thereby contributing to the region's development," he added.
This partnership is thus intended as continuity, to support the commitments made by the Ministers of Agriculture and Food Security of ECOWAS member countries, as defined in the Lomé declaration on fertilizers and soil health in West Africa and the Sahel.
It should be noted that the World Bank has pledged to raise its agricultural investments in West and Central Africa from $4 billion to $5.5 billion by 2024.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi