Togo First
Togo now has a law to foster the growth of its textile industry
Togolese deputies recently greenlit a law that benefits investors and businesses active in the textile industry. The parliamentarians voted on the bill, which covers the free industrial zone, on November 30, during the sixth plenary session of the second ordinary session of the year 2022.
On the tax front, the law sets the dividend and patent tax on companies at 10%, starting from the 9th year of activity and forward.
Moreover, investors and businesses operating in the free industrial zone will be exempt from paying some taxes such as the land tax, the income tax due to foreign technical assistance services, and duties and taxes that are not specifically mentioned. There is also a 50% cut on customs duties and taxes and the VAT on commercial vehicles.
The passing of the law by the deputies will, according to the minister for investment promotion, Kayi Mivedor, guarantee the “development of a fully integrated value chain from the production of cotton, the basic raw material, to the manufacture of clothing.”
For the government, the goal, with the new law, is to use the textile industry to create more jobs in Togo, in line with “the vision developed by the government roadmap to strengthen the attractiveness of the country to investors itolocally process cotton produced in Togo,” via the Industrial Platform of Adétikopé (PIA).
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Parliament examines 2023 budget
Togolese deputies began on Thursday, December 1, 2022, the examination of the 2023 draft finance law, which the government adopted a few weeks ago.
In detail, the people’s representatives will scrutinize the economic and financial prospects that Lomé expects in the coming year. Mainly, the parliament will focus on major sectors of activity, fiscal measures affecting the social environment, and the emergency program in the Savanes region.
The project for next year, let’s recall, has been set at CFA1,957.9 billion, up 4.4% from CFA1,887 billion in the 2022 rectifying law.
Almost half of the forecast budget is devoted to social welfare – just like this year and the previous one.
Esaïe Edoh
Sahel & West Africa: Lomé hosts key meeting on food security
Lomé is hosting the 38th Annual Meeting of the Food Crisis Prevention Network in the Sahel and West Africa. The meeting started on December 6 and ends on the 9th.
Organized by the Sahel and West Africa Club and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), it will allow participants to assess the provisional results of the 2022-2023 agropastoral campaign and the food and nutrition situation in the Sahel and West Africa.
Participants will also discuss pastoral and security crises, food and nutrition resilience, and investments to make food systems more resilient. The management of food and nutrition security will be also among the topics covered.
On the last day of the meeting, Togo will share its experience regarding investment in food and nutrition security, and resilience as well.
Esaïe Edoh
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