Togo First
Water Access: Togo secures over €230 million worth of commitments at recent roundtable
During the roundtable held in Lomé on December 1 and 2, some financial institutions and international organizations promised to provide Togo with over €230 million (about CFA157 billion) to improve access to clean water across the territory.
Precisely, the World Bank promised $100 million for various water projects, the Banque Ouest africaine de développement (BOAD) promised $80 million, and the European Union said it would provide a financing guarantee of up to €21 million.
There is also the French Development Agency (AFD), which committed to spending €50 million to support Togo’s 2021-2023 Strategy for Access to Drinking Water (AEP). After the roundtable, the Togolese government signed with the agency a €10 million financing agreement. The financing, a grant, will help implement the Project to improve living conditions in schools and rural areas for the people of Savanes and Kara.
According to Bolidja Tiem, the Togolese minister of water, all the funds promised will help tackle issues faced by some local communities.
"Financing the water and sanitation sector also means financing inclusion, social cohesion, and the fight against violent extremism. Making water available to our populations means ensuring the development of a certain number of fundamental sectors such as industry, agriculture, livestock, the environment and fishing. Making water available to our people means promoting health by fighting against various waterborne diseases," said Tiem.
Let it be recalled that the government of Togo aims to make sure that the whole country has access to clean water by 2030.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo launches guide to help local startups raise funds
Togo recently adopted a guide to help startup founders raise funds. It was launched on November 30, 2022, in Lomé.
The document takes an in-depth look at the country’s financing ecosystem and financing opportunities available to Togolese entrepreneurs. "This guide provides information on the methodology of access to finance and also information on support structures, and the various existing sources of investment at the national level to support Togolese entrepreneurs, "said the head of the program to improve the competitiveness of the private sector in Togo (ProComp), Markus Schubiger.
Also, the 139-page document advises entrepreneurs on ways to secure funds and efficiently manage these funds. Accessible, the guide specifies the type of financing necessary based on the type of business.
The document, which is currently available in digital format, was produced as part of the ProComp project. The elaboration was backed, financially and technically, by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
In Togo, the ministry in charge of investment promotion will raise the awareness of entrepreneurs about the document.
Esaïe Edoh
Digital Transformation at the heart of 2022 Togo Top Impact Awards
The 5th edition of the Togo Top Impact (TTI 2022) Awards was launched in Lome on December 3, 2022. Organized by the National Organization for Excellence and Integral Development of Togo (ONEDI-Togo), this is an event that rewards individuals or entities that have marked the country throughout the year. And this year, the focus is digital transformation.
For this edition, there will be 11 categories of prizes. According to Ali Tossa, promoter and chairman of the organizing committee of TTI, these awards will reward work done from November 2021 to December 2022. "In addition to these categories, there will be four special awards including the personality of the year," he said.
Placed under the theme "digital transformation: an opportunity for financial inclusion and entrepreneurship of women and youth," the 2022 TTI will last from December 10, 2022, to January 28, 2023.
Digital transformation was picked, according to organizers, as the focus due to its importance during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the event, there will be a women-only masterclass on digital professions.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo expects a new ECF deal by the end Q1-2023
Togo expects a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of the first quarter of 2023. The timeline was given by Finance Minister Sani Yaya during an interview on the sidelines of Africa’s Financial Industry Summit (Lome, Nov 28-29).
According to the official, the country will resume the discussions in early 2023 with hopes for a new deal by the end of the mentioned quarter.
After the last Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement that ended in 2020 with satisfactory results, Togo expressed the will to sign a new deal to continue its structural reforms. In 2021, discussions between Togo and the IMF resumed but, in June of the same year, they were postponed to “the near future” after an IMF team visit to Lomé. It is worth mentioning that the crises (the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war namely) have delayed the discussions.
One of the issues not addressed by the end of the previous ECF arrangement is the privatization of Union Togolaise de Banques (UTB). It will surely be one of the most debated points in those discussions. Another discussion point is the reforms on the mobilization of tax and customs revenues.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo and Mauritius look to tighten their economic relationship
Togo and Mauritius are looking for ways to bolster their economic cooperation. Indeed, the Togolese President, Faure Gnassingbe, and Dhanesswurnath Vikash Thakoor, CEO of the National Financial Services Commission of Mauritius, discussed various possibilities in this regard, yesterday, Nov. 29, during an audience that the President granted the executive.
"We discussed the possibilities of partnership in the coming days, between Mauritius and Togo, to work more closely to promote economic exchanges," the Mauritian executive said, adding “I will relay the president’s message to our prime minister so we can accelerate the process.”
The tête-à-tête took place on the sidelines of the African Financial Industry Summit (AFIS) recently held in Lomé. Commenting on the forum, the Mauritian representative, according to the Togolese Presidency, lauded the “successful organization” of this international meeting which "augurs a better future for financial inclusion on the continent".
The economic rapprochement between Togo and Mauritius began in 2013 when the former relied on the latter’s financial expertise while reforming its tax administration and creating the Togolese Revenue Office (OTR). A few years later, Lomé and Port Louis formally established diplomatic relations, with the signing of an agreement in New York in 2017.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
IB Bank-Togo inks financial deal with PIA, few months after Coris Bank
IB Bank-Togo will financially support two firms located at the Industrial Platform of Adetikope (PIA). The lender signed the related financing agreement with the PIA last Friday, November 25, in Lomé.
The two beneficiaries are Togo Soja and Togo Organics who will use the new funds to boost their agricultural output, invest in the construction of their factories, transform local products, and buy raw materials. Part of the funds will also finance the 2022-2023 agricultural campaign in Togo.
Nabil Tahari, Head of IB Bank Togo, said the financing agreement shows the bank’s commitment to economic growth. It is worth noting that agriculture is one of the key strategic axes of IB Bank Togo.
"The Board of Directors of IB Bank and the entire management committee did not hesitate to approve all requests from the PIA to support the government both relative to industrialization projects and to the 2022-2023 agricultural campaign," said Tahari.
For his part, Commander Sandah Idiola, government representative at the PIA, believes that the deal materializes the country’s ambition to grow “by transforming our own input, in this case, agricultural input.”
It should be emphasized that IB Bank-Togo had already committed to supporting the government’s 2020-2025 roadmap.
Let’s also note that IB Bank-Togo is not the first local bank to support the PIA. A few months ago, the PIA obtained CFA20 billion from Coris Bank, to bolster soybean processing.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Fintech: EziPay lands in Togo, making it easier to transfer money to neighboring countries
Mauritius-based money transfer startup, EziPay, is now operational in Togo. With its mobile app, Togolese residents will be able to receive and send money from and to Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Niger, Mali, Benin, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire, the startup posted on Facebook.
The EziPay app will “give people means to send money easily, safely and reliably, across borders, at a cheap cost.”
The company offers technology-based payment services that can operate via a mobile money wallet, bank account, or Visa/Mastercard. The international platform claims to have 3 million users in 55 countries and more than 12 million transactions.
In Togo, EziPay joins other fintech startups such as Cinet Pay, Pay dunia, or Semoa.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
African States must take on four major roles to support the growth of the continent’s finance industry - President Gnassingbe
Faure Gnassingbe, the Togolese President, claims that the African States have four main tasks as part of their contribution to the development of the continent’s finance industry. He said so on November 28, while launching the second edition of the Africa Financial Industry Summit hosted in his country.
The first task is to build an attractive business climate. In this area, the leader believes “there is still more to be done”, even if much progress has been made regarding taxes, legal stability, and administrative bottlenecks.
The second task befalling the State is to foster information-sharing. “Not only information on the business environment, but information of businesses themselves”. He then gave the example of Togo which produced its 2025 roadmap, based on a coherent list of projects.
The State must play its role of referee.That is, according to Gnassingbe, the third mission that will ensure that an investment is sustainable and responsible. "It is necessary to be able to take into account the elements that affect pollution, and the loss of diversity, among others. And there, obviously, the public power finds its role of referee between the positive results of the investment in terms of profit and employment on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the environmental constraints," Gnassingbet explained.
The last task of the State is to organize innovation. While it benefits all actors of the financial sector, the public sector, first and foremost, is the ally of the most innovative of these actors and they are many examples illustrating this, the President noted.
The State must, therefore, support actors of the finance industry, because, “our common success depends on this collaboration between public powers and the financial sector.”
Esaïe Edoh
WAEMU securities: Togo paid back nearly 300 billion CFA by the end of October 2022
So far this year, Togo has paid back CFA299 billion out of what it owes WAEMU investors. As at November 10, 2022, the country raised CFA433 billion from these investors this year.
The funds reimbursed break down into 27.5 billion of fungible treasury securities and 271.43 billion of fungible treasury bonds. This is according to data from the UMOA securities agency that Togo First consulted.
This year, Togo, it should be noted, intends to raise CFA663 billion on the regional money market. The proceeds will serve to finance the national budget.
Esaïe Edoh
The IFC gives details about its priorities in Togo
Sergio Pimenta, Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Africa, met with President Faure Gnassingbe on 28 November. The two men met on the sidelines of the African Financial Industry Summit held in Lomé, Togo.
On the occasion, the IFC’s VP for Africa talked about his institution’s priorities for Togo in the coming years. "We discussed financial inclusion and many other major areas of our priorities which are the development of agriculture, agribusiness, logistics, and transport which are important sectors of the Togolese economy. Togo is a very important country for the IFC,” Pimenta said.
The IFC also plans to strengthen its partnership with Togo, based on the latter’s “consistent commitment to the promotion of financial industries across the continent.”
Currently, the IFC’s portfolio in Togo is estimated at CFA450 million. The World Bank’s private sector financing arm, in the West African nation, finances mainly social infrastructure projects, digital projects, and energy and agricultural transformation (SMEs and SMIs) projects.
Esaïe Edoh