Togo First
UMOA-securities: Togo secures CFA33 billion on the regional money market
Last Friday, Togo secured CFA33 billion on the UMOA securities market. While that is the amount Lomé retained, it mobilized around CFA59 in the related issue.
The country raised the funds through a simultaneous issue of Treasury Recovery Bonds (OdR), with the bonds having a nominal value of CFA10,000.
According to the UMOA securities agency, the two issues will mature over five and seven years, respectively. They have an interest rate of 5.7% and 5.9%, distinctly.
The agency added that Togolese authorities will use the operation’s proceeds to finance their budget, in line with efforts to recover from Covid-19 and return to pre-pandemic performances.
Esaïe Edoh
African Guarantee Fund teams up with BGFIBAnk to help African SMEs get more financing
The African Guarantee Fund Group (AGF) has set up a €50 million credit guarantee line for African SMEs. The BGFI network will distribute the funds, according to an agreement that both institutions signed on August 12, 2022, in Libreville.
The joint statement disclosing the partnership indicates that the deal was signed by Henri-Claude Oyima and Jules Ngankam, the respective CEOs of BGFIBank Group and AGF Group. The top management of both entities was there.
"The AGF Group and the BGFIBank Group have been working together for eight years, and this new agreement shows our desire to keep supporting SMEs, which are key players in job creation in Africa. Also, we consider women entrepreneurs as a pillar of economic growth. And thanks to the AFAWA Guarantee for Growth program, which AGF deployed in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the BGFIBank Group's subsidiaries will provide women’s SMEs with more advantageous conditions," said Mr. Ngankam.
AGF West Africa, the group’s division dedicated to SMEs in the region, is based in Lomé. In Togo, the group focuses on women and youth. It supports their businesses and wants to create between 30,000 and 50,000 jobs over five years.
Public Transport: Togo’s moto-taxi and tuk-tuk riders coalesce into a central union group
Coming from all parts of the country, nearly 300 taxi-bike riders gathered, last Thursday, to set up the central union of taxi-bikes and trike riders (COSTT). The entity will directly handle talks with the government, relative to the formalization of the moto-taxi activity.
“Bringing together all taxi-bike unions into a group that will formalize is important, essential even, for the sector to operate efficiently; a goal which the government has always aimed to achieve,” said Dermane Tadjoudine, director of the road and rail transport office (DTRF)
It should be noted that a few weeks ago, the government announced the reorganization of urban public transport of people by cab, moto-taxis, and tuk-tuks.
The official added that the proper functioning of the new group of unions will contribute to the government’s ambition of making Togo a logistics hub and leading business center, in West Africa. "To have a hub, we need a transport system that provides reliable, safe, sustainable, and affordable road transport services for goods and people,” Tadjoudine said.
In Togo, 90% of people and goods moving across the country use taxis, taxi-bikes, and trikes, according to the government. And many young people work in the sector.
"The transport sector is one of the levers capable of generating strong and sustainable economic growth, notably through the creation of production-conducive externalities," reads the statement from the council of ministers held on July 25, 2022. On that day, the government said it was working on restructuring public transport in urban areas, especially the transportation of people with taxis, taxi-bikes, and trikes.
Esaïe Edoh
Afreximbank, Ecobank, and BIA Togo to pump €145 million into the Adetikope Industrial Platform
Afreximbank, Ecobank-Togo, and BIA Togo put together €145 million (more than CFA95 billion) for Arise Group to build infrastructure at the Adetikope Industrial Platform (PIA). All parties signed a financing agreement last Tuesday, Aug 16.
In detail, Afreximbank, the deal’s lead manager, provided €85 million, and Ecobank and BIA Togo (a subsidiary of Attijariwafa Bank) disbursed respectively €45 million and €15 million. The project to which the funds will be dedicated is valued at €247 million. It is key for the Togolese economy.
The new financing follows another from the West African Development Bank (BOAD) provided about a year ago. On October 21, the PIA and BOAD indeed signed a €30.5 million financing agreement.
"This banking pool joins the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which has set up, in favor of PIA Togo, a credit of about €30.5 million (CFA20 billion) whose agreement was signed on October 21, 2021,” we learned.
The PIA is operational since June 2021 and is now moving to its second development phase. In its first phase, an industrial zone, a logistics zone, a commercial and residential center, and world-class infrastructure were built at the site. For the second phase, those in charge of the project plan to deploy factories that will process various crops and fruits, such as cashew nuts, pineapple, corn, mango, sesame, etc.
Esaïe Edoh
A cybersecurity regional hub will soon be built in Lomé, Togo
Togo will soon host a regional cybersecurity hub: the African Cybersecurity Center. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) will help the country build the facility. Both parties have already signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to this end, according to a joint release dated August 16, 2022.
“The Togolese Republic and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) are pleased to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding for close collaboration to build the African Cybersecurity Coordination and Research Center in Togo,” reads the release.
Cina Lawson, minister of the digital economy and digital transformation, welcomed the news, saying: "We are pleased to partner with ECA, to bolster our commitment to making cybersecurity a top priority for our states. Our ambition is to make our country a true digital hub in Africa. Our partnership model with the private sector is an innovative approach we want to put forward, to inspire other countries, and foster safer cyberspace on the continent.”
The African Cybersecurity Center will be built in Lomé. Among others, it will provide expertise in cybersecurity, promote this discipline, and investigate cybercriminal activities.
The Center’s currently-known missions include building capacity and supporting established cybersecurity agencies in African countries, working with African governments, policymakers, law enforcement, and security experts. Overall, the hub aims to develop effective frameworks for assessing and tackling cyber threats, while promoting cybersecurity in the region. It will also provide highly specialized technical and research skills to boost cybersecurity, in West Africa, and Africa in general.
Last March, Togo hosted Africa’s first cybersecurity summit. Co-organized with UNECA, the event brought together Heads of State and governments, as well as leaders of the private sector and civil society. On this occasion, the "Lomé declaration on cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime," or the Lomé Declaration, was adopted.
Togo: Over CFA500 billion of tax revenues already collected so far this year
Togolese authorities secured CFA504 billion in taxes between January and July, this year. That’s 62% of what the country’s tax revenue office, the OTR, expects for the year–CFA814 billion. The money will finance State spending, in line with the 2022 State expenditure law.
Philippe Kokou Tchodie, Head Commissioner of the OTR, disclosed the results last week, during a mid-year review session.
"We have made some progress despite the economic and social context of the sub-region, and a tense atmosphere at the national level. We managed to secure 62% to 63% of our annual target, and this means we have good momentum for the rest of the year,” said the official.
The tax office added that it is working on a tax earning strategy for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025. With this strategy, the OTR hopes to increase the tax pressure rate to 15% by 2025, from 13.6% in 2021.
In 2021, Togo collected CFA780 billion in taxes, according to Kokou Tchodie’s office.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Authorities halt fishing and related activities at Nangbéto Lake for three months
No fishing is allowed at Nangbéto Lake, Togo, from August 15 to November 15, 2022. This corresponds to the period for the biological rest of fishes, Edem Tengue, the minister of fishing and coast protection, wrote in a statement.
“Biological rest, established on the lake of Nangbeto as part of sustainable management measures, aims to allow for the lake’s repopulation in halieutic resources, to ensure their sustainability for the good of the present and future generations", the official said.
He added that anyone caught, “fishing, moving, or selling products from this Lake” will be sanctioned according to law.
Besides fishing, aquaculture is also practiced at the Nangbéto Lake. The Aquaculture Development Project of Togo (PDAT) was deployed there and CFA380 million have been spent under this project, to provide fish farmers with the equipment they need to produce more tilapia. Up till April 2022, this investment has helped produce nearly 30 tons of tilapia for the local market.
Moov Africa launches Start Up Challenge in Togo and other counties
In Togo, Moov Africa launched a challenge for entrepreneurs: Moov Africa Start Up Challenge. This is the first edition of the project and it rolled out on August 12.
Deployed in all markets where the Maroc Telecom group operates, the challenge aims to foster digital transformation as well as “modern and innovation entrepreneurship.” Also, it should, according to Abdellah Tabhiret, managing director of the group’s Togolese subsidiary, “identify, support, promote, and finance startup founders in Togo, those who have the courage and audacity to start new projects, and who believe, like us, in this country’s huge potential.”
Projects submitted must impact communities, regardless of the domain of activity (health, finance, agriculture, tech, etc.). There will be several stages (application submission, pre-selection, acceleration programs including training and support sessions, and country finals) before the international finals where the winners from each country will compete.
The top three winners will get respectively six, three, and two million CFA. Applicants have until August 28, 2022, to register.
Octave A. Bruce
Kennedy Round: Japan gives Togo almost CFA2 billion worth of rice
On August 11, 2022, Togo and Japan sealed a CFA1.75 billion financing deal that will benefit vulnerable people in the West African country. The agreement was signed by the Togolese Minister of Agriculture, Antoine Lekpa Gbégbéni, and the Japanese ambassador to Togo, Ikkatai Katsuya.
As part of the deal, which is part of the Kennedy Round Project, Togo will get white rice for vulnerable people. Katsuya said the support will help Togo cope with climate change’s impact on rice production, especially, and with economic disruptions spurred by the Covid pandemic.
Besides, the Japanese added that the facility would also back the Togolese government in its efforts to ensure food and nutritional security for its population.
For his part, the Togolese minister of agriculture, Antoine Gbégbéni, noted that thanks to revenues generated by selling some of the rice the country obtained from Japan, this year, under the KR project, “several projects included in the 2025 Togo government roadmap for agriculture have been financed.”
Indeed, so far this year, Togo received 6,000 tons of white rice (worth CFA3 billion) from Japan, under the Kennedy Round project. Early next year, Lomé expects another 2,700 tons of white rice, under the same project.
Esaïe Edoh
The U.S. announces a $2B financing to help support democracy in Togo and other African countries
Over the next decade, Togo and other sub-Saharan African countries will get $2 billion from the U.S. under a program aimed at bolstering democracy on the continent. The funding was disclosed by the U.S. State Secretary, Antony Blinken, on Aug 8, during a trip to South Africa.
These funds will be deployed under the "Global Fragility Act," a State Department mechanism that aims to foster "more peaceful, inclusive, and resilient societies in places where conditions are ripe for conflict."
Concretely, in line with the program, the U.S. will provide support in specific areas that it will identify. Washington’s strategy builds on "decades of lessons learned in conflict prevention, such as cultivating good relationships between community leaders, government officials, and security forces, which are essential to defusing tensions before they escalate into violence, and building resilience to the destabilizing effects of climate change, such as more frequent and severe droughts," according to the U.S. Secretary of State.
It should be highlighted that in Togo, America, which is represented by ambassador Fitzsimmons, has been increasingly helping boost security in a context where terrorism expands in the Sahel and Gulf of Guinea regions. For example, the two countries are set to cooperate on a multi-year mission to prevent conflicts in Africa.
Besides Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Guinea are the West African countries to benefit from the facility.
Next December, a US-Africa summit will be held. On this occasion, representatives from Washington and their African partners will talk about issues like food security, amidst the war in Ukraine, and climate change. The move happens as some of the US’ rivals, like Russia, have been seeking to strengthen their cooperation with Africa, in the economic and diplomatic areas.
Ayi Renaud Dossav