Togo First
Togo: 130 Young Entrepreneurs Trained Under ECOWAS Program
The Fund for Regional Stabilization and Development (FRSD), a regional program launched by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in May 2024, has helped more than 130 young Togolese—men and women alike—gain hands-on skills in processing and marketing agricultural and livestock products over the past 18 months.
Among the beneficiaries, 65 received direct funding to expand their businesses in the dairy, horticulture, fisheries, and poultry sectors.
The FRSD operates in some of the country’s most vulnerable rural regions, including Kara, Savanes, and Centrale. The project’s outcomes were reviewed during a lessons-learned workshop held on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Kara, where beneficiaries, local officials, and implementation partners assessed its impact.
Participants praised the program’s contribution to job creation, skills training, social cohesion, and reduced economic vulnerability in rural areas.
According to Francis Nadjombé, GIZ regional coordinator for Kara and Savanes, these results “show that economic stabilization and vocational training can serve as lasting tools for peace and development in West Africa.”
The FRSD is financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ in partnership with VSF-Suisse and GEVAPAF. The initiative also covers Benin and Guinea-Bissau, following a pilot phase in Gambia, with total funding of €25.2 million.
R.E.D
Togo Launches 2025-2026 Soybean Season, Sets Farm-Gate Price at 220 XOF per Kilo
Togo officially launched the 2025-2026 soybean marketing season on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. The launch event in Lomé also featured the signing of new agreements among industry stakeholders on export conditions for Togolese soybeans.
The agreements were signed by the National Federation of Soybean Producer Cooperatives (FNCPS), the Togolese Association of Soybean Processors (ATTS), and the National Association of Soybean Traders-Exporters (ANCES). They cover marketing volumes, sales prices, transport procedures, inspection points, and technical measures to ensure a successful 2025–2026 season.
Stakeholders set the farm-gate price of soybeans at 220 XOF per kilogram, down from 250 XOF in the previous season. According to Koriko Mounirou, President of the Interprofessional Committee for the Togo Soybean Sector (CIFS-Togo), the reduction reflects recent declines in global soybean prices. The total volume set for commercialization this season is 200,000 tons.
With these new agreements, CIFS-Togo aims to bring long-term stability to the national soybean market through fair and transparent mechanisms. Key objectives include protecting farmers’ incomes, expanding access to financing for traders and processors, and improving sector governance through a more unified and proactive structure.
Togo’s national soybean production for the recently concluded 2024–2025 season was estimated at just over 260,000 tons. Industry players are now targeting an ambitious 500,000 tons for the upcoming agricultural cycle, aiming to strengthen Togo’s position as one of West Africa’s leading soybean producers.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo’s Treasury Auction Draws Strong Demand with 213% Coverage Rate
Togo raised 27.5 billion XOF on the UMOA public securities market on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, after a dual auction of Treasury Bonds (OAT) and Treasury Bills (BAT). The issuance exceeded its initial target of 25 billion XOF.
According to a report from the UMOA-Titres Agency, total bids reached 53.3 billion XOF, translating into a bid-to-cover ratio of 213.31%.
After the selection process, the Togolese Treasury accepted 8.1 billion XOF out of 32.2 billion XOF in bids for the 364-day, multiple-rate Treasury Bills (BAT). For the three-year Treasury Bonds (OAT) carrying a fixed rate of 6.25%, Togo retained 19.4 billion XOF of the 20.1 billion XOF offered.
This was Togo’s first issuance on the regional market for the final quarter of 2025, during which the Treasury plans to raise a total of 100 billion XOF.
With this successful auction, Togo’s year-to-date issuance stands at 292 billion XOF, about 88% of its 332 billion XOF annual target. The result reflects continued investor confidence in Togo’s sovereign credit and sound debt management strategy.
Esaïe Edoh
Yawa Chantal Tségan Named Commissioner General of Togo Revenue Authority
The Togo Revenue Authority (OTR) has appointed former Parliament Speaker Yawa Chantal Tségan as its new Commissioner General, succeeding Philippe Kokou Tchodié. The leadership change at the institution—which oversees tax, customs, and local revenue collection—took effect on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.
Tségan combines technocratic expertise with political experience. Trained as a tax inspector at the École Nationale des Impôts in Clermont-Ferrand, she previously served in the Directorate of Large Enterprises and as Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Transport before entering Parliament in 2013.
She formally assumed her new role at a handover ceremony held at OTR headquarters, attended by Finance and Budget Minister Essowè Barcola. Tségan will now lead the OTR through a challenging period focused on improving collection, tackling fraud, and enhancing taxpayer services.
Outgoing Commissioner General Tchodié, appointed in February 2019, oversaw a period of strong performance. Budget revenues collected by the OTR totaled 779.6 billion XOF in 2021, rose to 865.3 billion XOF in 2022, and reached 990.1 billion XOF in 2023. This 2023 figure amounted to 108.6% of the target and a 14.5% increase over the previous year, according to OTR data. By the end of August 2025, the OTR had collected 737.2 billion XOF, or 61% of the annual target of just over 1.2 trillion XOF.
The leadership change comes at a pivotal moment, as Togo enters a new political era under a revised Constitution. Following the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country is prioritizing economic growth and fiscal consolidation, with the OTR acting as the key driver of domestic resource mobilization.
Tségan faces several fiscal challenges, including widening the tax base, strengthening customs oversight, digitizing services, and improving local revenue collection. She inherits a modernized institution but must maintain revenue growth and raise the share of direct taxes, which accounted for only about 25% of budget revenues in 2023, according to OTR reports.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
20th Lomé International Fair to Host China as Guest of Honor
Togo will host the 20th Lomé International Fair from Nov. 28 to Dec. 14, 2025. The event, which attracts businesses and investors from across the region and beyond, will highlight cooperation between Togo and China, with China named the guest country of honor.
A delegation of Chinese companies is expected to showcase China’s industrial and technological strengths during a special China National Day on Nov. 29. The program will feature exhibitions, cultural events, and business meetings aimed at strengthening trade ties between the two countries.
The 2025 edition is especially significant as it marks the 40th anniversary of the Fair’s organizer, the Center for Exhibitions and Fairs of Togo (CETEF). More than 1,300 exhibitors and around 700,000 visitors are expected at the 90,000-square-meter venue.
New features this year include a reorganization of the pavilions, digitalized services, and upgraded visitor facilities. Training sessions are also being held for exhibitors to improve booth presentation and marketing skills.
Togolese music icon King Mensah has been chosen as the face of this year’s event.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo Establishes Inspectorate to Enforce Environmental Standards
Togo has taken another step to modernize its environmental policy with the establishment of the General Inspectorate for the Environment, Forest Resources, and the Coastline. The decree, signed on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, by Environment Minister Dodzi Kokoroko, places the new body under his direct supervision.
The Inspectorate will be responsible for overseeing, evaluating, and monitoring the compliance of economic and social activities with existing environmental standards. Its mandate covers the sustainable management of forests, protection of the coastline, and preservation of natural resources.
The new agency is tasked with strengthening national resilience to climate threats and ensuring rigorous monitoring of environmental policies. It will also oversee the implementation of Togo’s international commitments and coordinate the country’s participation in global climate conferences.
This will involve issuing periodic climate monitoring and alert reports to guide public policy and national planning.
The reform is part of a broader effort in Togo that recently included the creation of a National Climate Watch Cell and the launch of a project to update forestry data. These initiatives aim to provide the country with an integrated environmental governance framework that balances economic development, the green transition, and transparency in the management of natural resources.
Togo Returns to Regional Bond Market Seeking 25 Billion CFA Francs
Togo is making a return to the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) public securities market after nearly three months, seeking to raise 25 billion CFA francs. The operation will take place on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, via a simultaneous issuance of fungible Treasury Bills (BAT) and Treasury Bonds (OAT).
According to Togo First, the Togolese Public Treasury plans to raise 8 billion CFA francs by issuing 364-day Treasury Bills at a nominal value of 1 million CFA francs, offered at multiple rates. The remaining 17 billion CFA francs will be raised through three-year and five-year Treasury Bonds with a nominal value of 10,000 CFA francs, offering interest rates of 6.25% and 6.50% respectively.
The proceeds will help finance the 2025 national budget, totaling 2,397 billion CFA francs.
Year to date, Togo has raised 264.5 billion CFA francs on the regional market, reaching about 79% of its annual target of 332 billion CFA francs. For the final quarter of 2025, the country plans to raise an additional 100 billion CFA francs.
Esaïe Edoh
Spiro, Formerly M-Auto Raises Record $100M for Expansion
Spiro, the two-wheel electric mobility company formerly known as M-Auto, which has operated in Togo since 2022, has closed a record funding round of $100 million (approximately 56.5 billion CFA francs). This is the largest fundraising round ever recorded in the African e-mobility sector.
The investment, led by the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the impact investing subsidiary of Afreximbank, aims to strengthen Spiro's market position. The capital will be used to expand the company's activities, notably through an enlarged network of battery-swap stations.
Established in 2022, Spiro currently operates more than 60,000 electric motorbikes and 1,200 battery-swap stations across six African countries: Togo, Benin, Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda.
The raise comes at a time when “Africa is at an inflection point in personal mobility.”
According to Kaushik Burman, CEO of Spiro, “Riders are rapidly shifting from internal combustion motorcycles to Spiro’s more affordable and accessible battery-swapping ecosystem and motorcycles.”
Spiro plans to accelerate the installation of new battery-swap stations in its key markets, including Togo. The company also intends to support the creation of skilled jobs related to the production, maintenance, and management of African-made electric vehicles.
Furthermore, with the new resources, Spiro projects deploying over 100,000 vehicles by the end of 2025 while developing clean, decentralized energy infrastructure across the continent.
In Togo, Spiro aligns with the national energy transition and sustainable mobility policy, which is supported by tax incentives written into the 2024 finance law, particularly the exemption on the importation of electric batteries.
R.E.D.
West African Countries Discuss Maritime Border Delimitation in Lomé
A regional workshop on maritime border delimitation and the joint management of marine spaces in West Africa began in Lomé on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. Organized by the Togolese High Council for the Sea, in partnership with German Cooperation (GIZ) and the African Union's Border Programme (AUBP), the meeting brings together experts and representatives from the region’s coastal nations.
The goal is to establish a platform for sharing experiences on the challenges of maritime border delimitation and the sustainable management of shared marine areas. Participants aim to contribute to a comprehensive guide on maritime border delimitation and ocean governance. This document, currently under preparation, is intended to transform these sensitive zones from potential sources of tension into areas of cooperation, integration, and shared development.
Over four days, discussions will focus on the legal framework applicable to marine spaces, border delimitation procedures, and related technical aspects.
Stanislas Baba, Minister-Counsellor to the President’s Council for Maritime Affairs, described the initiative as addressing a continental urgency. "Africa has 39 coastal countries, but very few have delimited their maritime spaces. If we are not careful, the seas risk becoming major sources of conflict," he warned. Baba stressed the necessity to "talk, negotiate, and cooperate to avoid tensions."
Esaïe Edoh
Togo Trains 400 Hairdressers to Support Mental Health Awareness
- The Bluemind Foundation trained 400 hairdressers in Lomé to act as community mental health ambassadors.
- The initiative aims to reach one million Togolese women by the end of 2026, with expansion planned in Kara, Centrale, and Savanes regions.
- Togo faces a critical shortage of psychiatrists — only seven for eight million people — highlighting the need for community-based support models.
In Togo, 400 hairdressers have completed training as community mental health ambassadors under the Heal by Hair program, an initiative launched by the Bluemind Foundation. The four-day training, held in partnership with the University of Lomé, concluded on October 22 and focused on equipping women in the hairdressing sector to detect, support, and guide clients experiencing psychological distress.
The sessions covered early identification of mental health issues, empathetic communication, and crisis management techniques. Participants are now expected to serve as local advocates capable of connecting women to professional care.
Marie-Alix de Putter, founder of the Bluemind Foundation, said: “Each trained salon becomes a haven of dignity and support. Our hairdressers are now essential community relays to promote mental health and break the stigma surrounding these disorders.”
The initiative transforms beauty salons — traditionally safe and social spaces for women — into informal hubs for emotional support and awareness.
Launched in Lomé in 2022, Heal by Hair has already supported more than 100,000 women across Togo, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire. The foundation plans to expand the program to the Kara region in July 2026, with a goal of reaching one million Togolese women by the end of that year, including 230,000 direct beneficiaries in Kara, Centrale, and Savanes.
The project comes amid alarming mental health statistics. According to data from the Bluemind Foundation, about 10% of Africa’s population suffers from mental health disorders. In Togo, only seven psychiatrists serve eight million people, and less than 20% of Africans have access to adequate care due to financial constraints.
By using hair salons as community contact points, the foundation aims to overcome these structural barriers and extend mental health support to women who would otherwise remain outside the formal healthcare system.