Togo was represented at the Africa CEO Forum 2023 by its minister of investment promotion, Rose Kayi Mivedor. The event was held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, from June 5 to 6, 2023.

On the occasion, the Togolese official met with a delegation of Canadian companies led by the president of Investment Quebec International, Hubert Bolduc. With them, she mainly covered bolstering the partnership between the Togolese and Canadian private sectors, as well as the investment opportunities offered to Canadian companies in the Gulf of Guinea.

The Africa CEO Forum is a pan-African meeting, organized by Jeune Afrique Media Group in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation. The forum aims to facilitate networking among African and international entrepreneurs, investors, and financial institutions, and to encourage discussion and brainstorming about economic and industrial issues that Africa faces. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The West African Development Bank (BOAD) and Smart Africa Alliance inked a framework on June 7. The document, signed in Lomé, aims to speed up digital transformation in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). 

In detail, the deal should foster e-commerce growth in the region, in Togo especially, and promote financial inclusion by supporting suitable investments in digital projects.

Serge Ekué, President, BOAD, and Lacina Kone, Managing Director, Smart Africa, both attended the signing ceremony. Ekué welcomed the partnership and highlighted the BOAD's commitment to finding concrete and innovative solutions to accelerate digital transformation in Africa.

The agreement also seeks to support the innovation ecosystem by popularizing the "startup toolkit" and strengthening capacities within the Smart Africa Digital Academy (SADA).

The Smart Africa Alliance was launched at the "Transform Africa" Summit in 2013, where member countries pledged to help drive the continent’s socio-economic development through ICTs. The Alliance has 38 member countries. 

The Togolese minister of trade Kodjo Adedze was in London on June 5 and 6 to attend the Commonwealth 2023 Trade Ministers Meeting held in the British capital.

During the meeting, Adedze asked the Commonwealth States to help finance the development projects and programs initiated by the Togolese government under its Togo 2023 roadmap. 

"We want to change paradigms, pushing towards the valorization and local transformation of our raw materials for more added value while limiting external shocks as much as possible...We want to benefit from all Commonwealth programs that foster the economic and commercial development of Member States," declared the Togolese Minister. 

He then emphasized Togo's willingness to "contribute its modest contribution to the noble ambition of the organization", leveraging its potentialities, knowingly raw materials, and human capital, especially women and the youth.

Togo officially joined the Commonwealth on June 25, 2022, after the Kigali Summit which was held in the same month. The move, according to Lomé, translates the country's ambition to build new partnerships and extend cooperation to more countries in several areas, including diplomatic, economic, commercial, educational, and cultural areas, among others.

Esaïe Edoh

The Togolese municipality of Doufelgou 3, located southwest of Niamtougou in the north of the country, validated its Municipal Development Plan (PDC) last week.

With an estimated budget of 1.39 billion CFA francs, the PDC spans five years, going from 2023 to 2028. The 183-page document includes seven (7) major programs, 18 projects, and 122 activities. According to ATOP, the plan was validated on June 2, in Alloum, the municipality's chief district.

All stakeholders concerned by the PDC attended the validation meeting. Among them were the municipal council, heads of decentralized state services, NGO leaders, traditional chiefs, and community leaders.

On the occasion, Hassim Maliawaï, Regional Director of Planning for the Kara region, reminded the local authorities of their obligation to plan their development, per the country’s decentralization law.

For her part, Abla Yassim, the mayor of the Doufelgou 3 municipality, lauded the PDC’s validation, highlighting its importance regarding strategic planning in her municipality.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor Foundation (SEA Foundation) will help implement reforms and improve the courses offered at the University of Lomé. The two parties recently signed a partnership on June 5, 2023, in Lomé where the Ex-Footballer Adebayor himself inked the partnership on behalf of his foundation while the university was represented by UL President Dodzi Kokoroko.

Under the agreement, the former soccer player will finance the construction of an amphitheater that will bear his name and a stand on the newly built football field of the university. He will also provide support to university startups in the fields of innovation and technology.

The deal also extends to the UL's National Institute of Youth and Sports, where it is expected that Sheyi Adebayor will give classes. Moreover, the former Madrid Star should leverage his network to help UL students to get internships and job opportunities.

According to Dodzi Kokoroko, the partnership "will leave a strong impact on the student community as Shéyi Emmanuel Adébayor remains an icon, a model of success for Togolese youth."

Esaïe Edoh

Lomé is hosting a 4-day assessment meeting that could lead to the adoption of the ECOWAS Interconnected Management System for Goods in Transit (SIGMAT). Customs officers from eight West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo) are taking part in the meeting. 

The system is financially and technically backed by the World Bank. It is a solution that aims to make transit declaration easier among the ECOWAS States. If adopted, the tool will be tested in the eight countries represented at the ongoing meeting, and later expand to others in the region.

"This meeting aims not only to evaluate the interconnection of the computer systems of the customs administrations, but also to examine the draft agreements and framework instructions to make SIGMAT effective on the corridors of the eight countries, and soon on all corridors of our sub-region," said Essien Kakra Kwawo, Commissioner of Customs and Indirect Rights of the Togolese Revenue Office (OTR).

Specifically, the SIGMAT will enable interconnected customs services to instantly share information on goods in transit. This should ensure transparency at all levels. According to customs actors, the mechanism is beneficial to both customs administrations and economic operators as it significantly cuts waiting times and delays at borders. 

Esaïe Edoh 

This year, the Togolese government plans to pre-finance the purchase of fertilizers for local farmers with over CFA800 million. The distribution campaign kicked off on Saturday, June 3, in Sada (Tchaoudjo Prefecture), setting the stage for the 2023-2024 agricultural campaign.

Lomé intends to provide the poorest farmers with NPK 15-15 and urea fertilizers through the Togo National Food Security Agency (ANSAT).

The move, a response to farmers' requests according to ANSAT, follows a successful pilot last year. At the time, the government released CFA500 million to pre-finance the purchase of over 1,388 tons of fertilizer. As in the previous campaign, the beneficiaries of this prefinancing can repay in kind, the value of the received fertilizers.

According to the General Director of ANSAT, Ouro-Koura Agadazi, this new operation aims to support producers and protect them against usurers. 

This operation paves the way for the official campaign for the sale of subsidized fertilizers.

Esaïe Edoh