Togo First
Lomé to host the second edition of the Africa Investment Days Forum next October
Togo will host the second edition of the Africa Investment Days Forum on October 27 and 28 this year.
The event itself was launched last week, on June 28, in Lomé. Key figures present at the occasion included César Apollinaire Ondo Mve, President of the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration of OHADA (CCJA), which covers 17 African states, Guy Martial Awona, CEO of Orabank Togo, and Ali Badini, CEO of Crédit Access.
The theme picked for the upcoming forum is “Investing in Africa: How to pair profitability and sustainability?” It is Organized by the African Capital Investment Promotion (ACIP), and the Société Civile Professionnelle Toble & Associés, a law firm at the Bar of Togo.
"Important topics will be addressed and will have the merit of covering sectors related to agriculture, infrastructure, FinTech, energy and culture and their interactions with the associated sources and mechanisms of financing," say the promoters.
The forum, which will be held in Lomé, will gather regional and international stakeholders around business opportunities available in Africa. About 50 speakers, from Togo and abroad, as well as 400 participants, are expected to attend the event. It is sponsored by national actors such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Togo, the National Council of Togolese employers, financial actors such as Orabank, and the Ivorian microfinance Credit Access
The first edition of the Africa Investment Days Forum was held two years ago. It focused on financing companies in OHADA law.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
University of Lomé and Togo Terminal ink an agreement to boost training and employment in the maritime sector
The University of Lome (UL) and the company Togo Terminal signed a memorandum of understanding that will benefit the Institute of Trades of the Sea (I2M). The agreement aligns with efforts to tackle the training-employment mismatch witnessed in Togo’s maritime sector.
The signatories, through the deal, want to develop and co-finance maritime courses provided at the UL, and to let students do their internship at the subsidiary of Bolloré Transport and Logistics.
The two parties will "define the general context and practical terms of the partnership, to develop collaborations in several areas of work.” Also, they will reinforce the capacity of human resources, with in-office and sandwich training.
According to the President of the University of Lome, Dodzi Komla Kokoroko, the move aligns with the university’s ambition to use sea professions as a springboard for Togo’s economic development.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo and Turkey seek to reinforce their trade relationship
A Turkish delegation was in Lomé last Friday to plead with Togolese authorities for a reduction in customs taxes on goods sent to the Togolese capital. The request, which aligns with Turkey’s ambition to boost trade with Togo, was made during a meeting with the Togolese Council of Employers.
Reducing custom taxes will, according to Berna Akyildiz, Chairman of the Turkey-Togo Business Council, make it easier for Turkish goods to enter Togo. Also, he added, they will be more accessible to the Togolese people.
Aiming for the same goal, the Togolese Council of Employers and several Turkish economic operators are working on a partnership with Togo’s private sector. This partnership, among others, will focus on the processing of local products, technology transfer, and creating jobs for the Togolese youth.
The Turkish delegation also said they wish for Turkish Airlines to serve Togo, in addition to Ghana and Benin.
Togo and Turkey have good relations. Last October, the Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was in Togo for an official visit. Subsequently, the two nations signed various agreements to bolster their cooperation.
Between 2015 and 2019, Togolese imports from Togo grew from CFA13.39 billion to CFA24 billion, according to the Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO).
Esaïe Edoh
Sandra Johnson: The World Bank has helped Togo achieve encouraging results in recent years
Togo has recorded good performances in several economic sectors over the past few years. According to Sandra Ablamba Johnson, Minister, Secretary-General of the Presidency, the country owes most of these performances and the consequent awards it won, to the World Bank.
The official said during the World Bank open day, held last week, on June 23 and 24, that the World Bank is one of Togo’s strategic partners. In 2020, the Bretton Woods institution contributed 20% of the funds that partners provided to finance the country’s development.
Moreover, available data shows that the World Bank’s investments in Togo soared to $917 million in 2022, from $184 million in 2017.
The monies, Johnson noted, helped Togo improve its business climate and be the Top performer in Africa, and third in the world, in this area in 2020.
“The World Bank’s support has helped us achieve encouraging results. I am referring of course to the reforms undertaken to improve the business climate. Also, there has been a significant improvement in the Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) score, not to mention the improvement of employment opportunities for Togolese youth and the efficiency of transportation,” she said.
The World Bank’s financial support covered 19 projects – 11 national and 8 regional – across the following sectors: education, health, social protection, agriculture, environment, energy, digital, infrastructure, and transport.
Esaïe Edoh
Lomé hosts second edition of e-commerce week of Togo
The second edition of Togo’s E-commerce week (22 - 28 June 2022) was officially launched last Thursday in Lome. Organized by Togo Pride and sponsored by Ecobank and Togocom, the initiative aims to get more people to understand e-commerce.
The theme picked for this year’s edition is "E-commerce in Togo, challenges, and opportunities in the post-Covid-19 recovery era.” The event hosts panels, exchanges, and presentations, involving Togo’s e-commerce stakeholders.
"The goal is to popularize e-commerce in Togo, by creating a framework in which the main actors of the ecosystem will be able to exchange on the opportunities of e-commerce," said Yibokou Komivi Sitou, Executive Director of Togo Pride.
"Today, at the second edition, we believe that with the lull (post covid, editor's note), we are entering a phase where the work started must be continued for E-commerce to truly contribute to the development of the economy. This activity must support existing trade,” he added.
Togo mobilizes CFA25 billion on UMOA securities market
Togo closed today, June 24, its latest issue on the UMOA securities market. It secured CFA25 billion by issuing recovery bonds with maturities of 3 and 7 years and a nominal value of CFA10,000.
According to a report released by the UMOA securities agency, 32 investors from the sub-region participated in the operation. They raised CFA81 billion which translates into a coverage rate of 325.59%.
Counting this issue, Togo has mobilized CFA313 billion on the regional money market so far this year. It is thus closer to its annual target of CFA550 billion.
Esaïe Edoh
The Chamber of Trade and Industry of Togo urges local economic operators to attend upcoming India-Africa conclave
The Chamber of Trade and Industry of Togo (CCI-Togo) met with Togolese economic operators on June 23 in Lomé. On the occasion, the institution encouraged actors to attend the 17th India-Africa Conclave which will be held in New Delhi on July 19-20, 2022.
The event will focus on economic recovery in a post-Covid context. Canlan Yakpey, secretary-general of the CCIT, said during the meeting that India already said it is ready to finance several projects, in sectors like energy, construction, finance, agriculture, technology, etc.
The CCIT also told Togolese economic operators about business opportunities available in India and readied them to win over Indian operators at the conclave.
“We have brought together these actors to let them know more about the opportunities offered by this conclave in the post-Covid-19 recovery context. This meeting will enable them to establish partnerships and attract Indian investors to Togo,” said Nathalie Bitho, president of the special consular delegation of the CCIT.
The Togolese ministers of trade and investment promotion, Kodjo Adedze and Rose Mivedor, will attend the conclave.
Started in 2005, the India-Africa conclave is a multisector event that takes place once a year. It is organized by the Indian ministry of trade, the Indian conference for industry, and Exim Bank India. It regroups African and Indian businesspeople.
Esaïe Edoh
ARCEP comes after Togocel..again
About a year ago, Togocel lost a dispute with the telecom regulator, ARCEP. At the time, the operator was fined CFA1 billion for inter-network tariff differentiation practices. Now, it could be sanctioned again.
Yesterday, June 23, the regulator summoned a delegation from Togocel. The latter was led by the company’s CEO, Paulin Alazard.
The accusation
This time, the ARCEP blames Axian’s subsidiary for the recurrent interruption, disruption, or cut-off of its services, which goes against its commitment to making them available, permanently and continuously. This is despite an 18-month moratorium that the operator was given to meet the ARCEP’s standards.
In response, Togocel blamed external causes for the issues reported by the regulator.
Robust arguments or…
Among others, the operator pointed out the cutting of optical fiber due to road works, theft and vandalism, and logistics and supply issues induced by the pandemic and the current global context. It also mentioned transmission issues due to power shortages.
Alazard and his team thus asked for another extension of six months to complete major works and launch more investments to tackle the problem that Togocel is being singled out for. They asked the ARCEP to be understanding and supportive.
A hard no
The ARCEP’s Managing Director, Yaovi Galley, said Togocel’s excuses were not solid enough and “requested” a sanction against the mobile operator, in line with the regulation in place and for the good of consumers. The final decision is to be taken by the ARCEP’s board and it should be issued soon.
The unavailability of Togocel services, in the northern region especially, has drawn many reactions in the area which has been the target of terrorists for some time. For example, on May 10, the extremists attacked Kpekpakandi, killing eight soldiers and leaving many injured.
Séna Akoda
Togo: the government asks for the cooperation of hotel managers to fight terrorism
Togolese authorities met with some hotel managers last Monday. The meeting, which took place in Lomé, focused on providing the managers with tools that help mitigate the jihadist threat in the country, as the authorities believe the terrorists may use hotels as hiding places.
Specifically, the operators were given instructions on what to do when passengers arrive and how to manage the police notebook, which allows the hotel to collect essential and important information on passengers and copies of their identity documents.
In this regard, Yark Damehane, the Togolese minister of security and civil protection, stressed the importance of detecting “ill-intended individuals who hide in hotels.” He added that “negligence or carelessness of hotels can create unfortunate situations for the country”.
With the cooperation of hotels, the Togolese government hopes to avoid scenarios such as those that happened in Mali and Burkina-Faso where terrorists used respectively the Radisson Hotel in Bamako and Splendide in Ouagadougou to perpetrate their attacks in November 2015 and January 2016.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo’s DAGL to finance innovative projects aimed at protecting the environment
In Togo, the District Autonome du Grand Lomé (DAGL) will pump CFA35 million into several projects aimed at protecting and preserving the environment in the capital, Lomé. The funds will be allocated as part of the 2nd edition of the call for projects for Togolese sports federations and associations operating in the Grand Lomé region. The tender, launched by the DAGL on June 21, will expire on July 22, 2022.
The DAGL will preferably pick sports-promotion projects that involve women and girls. These projects should also sensitize people on waste management, in particular, and environmental protection, in general.
Each winning bidder will get between CFA2.5 million and CFA5 million, depending on the impact of the proposed initiative.
The new tender, it should be emphasized, falls under the third phase of the Lomé Urban Environment Project (PEUL 3), under its fourth component, "Sports and Development", to be precise. The project is funded by the French Development Agency (AFD).
Esaïe Edoh