Like many countries committed to fighting climate change, Togo has a support mechanism to encourage reforestation. 

Those interested in benefiting from this mechanism can reach out to the Office of Forest Development and Exploitation (ODEF) for technical assistance when they plan to plant trees in desired spots. For the development of the soil, the cost varies between CFAF200,000 and 300,000 while reforestation varies between CFAF300,000 and 500,000 depending on the desired plant species. For silvicultural studies, the cost is CFAF11,800 per application. 

The time to process the request depends on the area covered by the project and the extent of preliminary works. 

Once approved,  the applicant receives technical support all through the period specified in the contract signed with Togolese authorities. 

To date, the mechanism has contributed to the reforestation of thousands of hectares throughout the country. 

Eligible persons: 

Anyone

Cost of the procedure:

• Reforestation: CFAF 300,000 to 500,000 per hectare depending on the plant species desired and the extent of the works needed

• Development: CFAF200,000 to 300,000 per hectare depending on the plant species and the extent of preliminary works

• Silvicultural studies: CFAF11 800 per application

Processing time: 

Depends on the nature and extent of preliminary works, as well as the accessibility of the land.

Where to submit the request?

Name of the office: Office of Forest Development and Exploitation (ODEF)

Address : 20 Evala Road, agbalépédogan, B.P. 334, Lomé, Togo.

Contact : 22 51 42 17

E-mail : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Web Portal: www.odef.tg

Required documentation:

A request addressed to the director of the ODEF. It must include the detailed address of the project, the nature of the work, the size of the land to be reforested, the land’s documents, the plant species to be used or grown, the objective of the project, and the contract duration.

Yesterday, the Togolese Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration, and Togolese Abroad held its annual Excellence Awards. Launched in 2014 by Minister Robert Dussey, the event celebrates the ministry's most excellent staff members.  

This year, Ibrahim Amadou, Afi Délali Atoko, and Joseph Awoussou won respectively the Award for Excellence, Best Secretary Award, and Best Staff Award. Amadou is a research officer at the Directorate of International Cooperation (DCI), Atoko is a secretary at the Directorate of Administrative and Financial Affairs (DAAF), and Awoussou is a maintenance agent.

According to Minister Dussey, the awards are given to “celebrate the ministry’s workers who, throughout the year, have shown commitment and self-sacrifice at work. This is to encourage everyone to give their best to make the Togolese diplomacy shine in the eyes of the world.”

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) raised over $2.5 million (around CFA1.4 billion) from its partners to fund 29 projects in Togo.

“Despite the constraints related to the pandemic, the year 2021 was marked by a 100% implementation rate of Core resources ($6,251,894) and the mobilization of more than $2.5 million from partners to implement 29 projects and programs,” said Mactar Fall, deputy resident representative of UNDP Togo. Fall said this yesterday at the opening of the annual review of the institution’s activities in the country.

The High Committee in charge of the Agenda for the Decade of African Roots and the African Diaspora held its third meeting last Monday. On this occasion, all 14 member countries of the initiative adopted the agenda covering the projects that will be implemented in the first years of the decade.

According to the plan, in the first year of the decade, a museum dedicated to African memories will be built. The same year, an Economic Forum for the Diaspora and Afro Descendants should be organized. Suggested by Togo, these projects align with already-launched initiatives or initiatives that are yet to be implemented by the African Union Commission, via the Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO). 

Robert Dussey, Togo’s foreign affairs minister, chaired the meeting. After affirming that the decade would be materialized “only through concrete projects,” Dussey urged the High Committee’s members to “strongly mobilize toward these achievements for the development of our continent.”

A Togo-led initiative, the decade of African roots and the African diaspora aims mainly to “make the African diaspora key actors of Africa’s development.” 

Let it be recalled that last September, Morocco said it would support the initiative with $200,000. This was during the High Committee’s second meeting.

Esaïe Edoh

Effective January 1, 2022, new parents will be able to get their children’s birth certificates for free. The news was confirmed yesterday by the Togolese Council of Ministers. 

“The council examined a (last) bill establishing the free issue of birth certificates in Togo,” a report from the council reads. This measure, the document adds, “aims to ensure the systematic registration of births in civil status centers all over the country and to improve citizens’ social protection.”

The measure was announced in February 2020 by President Faure Gnassingbé. At the time, the Togolese leader had declared: “I would like to tell parents that henceforth, they can get birth certificates for their children freely. To tackle the issue of identification, we will, starting this year, initiate a program that will make sure every Togolese gets an ID number that will play the same role as ID cards.”

Additionally, the government believes that the bill should boost inclusion and social harmony, in line with the first pillar of its development roadmap.

Ecobank Togo, a subsidiary of the eponymous pan-African banking group, was named best bank of the year by The Banker, a magazine released by Financial Times. The bank received the title during the Banker Awards 2021 held earlier this month. 

According to the US magazine, this is the second consecutive year that Ecobank Togo gets the title - an achievement that it owes to its “increased adhesion to fintech culture” and the digitalization of its services. 

In June this year, Ecobank Togo partnered with Semoa, a local fintech that launched a WhatsApp-based banking service with the help of Ecobank’s Xpress Account API. 

"We are continuously investing to automate transactions and provide state-of-the-art digital solutions to our customers," said Souleymane Touré, managing director of Ecobank Togo. 

In Togo, Ecobank also launched its Ellevate product aimed at empowering women across the country. The product, available in 32 other countries, targets a minimum of 50,000 businesswomen per year, lending them $100 million.

Besides Togo, the Ecobank subsidiaries in the Gambia and Guinea Bissau were also named by The Banker as the best bank of the year in the two countries.

Esaïe Edoh

BTCI, a fully public Togolese bank, has been officially privatized. It is now part of IB Holding, which is owned by Malian construction mogul Mahamadou Bonkoungou.

Announced last August by the council of ministers, the deal was approved on September 20th by WAEMU’s banking commission. On November 11, the ministry of finance, in a decree obtained by Togo First, authorized the change of ownership and the change of corporate name. According to this decree, IB Holding acquired 90% of the bank’s shareholding, leaving the remaining 10% stake to the State. However, the amount of the deal was not disclosed.

The decree also specifies that IB Holding’s management must finalize two capital increases equivalent to CFA20 billion before the year ends. This would bring BTCI’s capital to CFA27 billion, thus above the prudential requirements.  

Another clause states that Mamadou Bonkoungou has to transfer, latest by June 30, 2022, holdings of his largest subsidiary IB Burkina to IB Holding, a financial company under Togolese law created last June 29 and dedicated to "taking stakes in companies in the banking and financial sector."  

It is also required of IB Holding to open up to "other investors with the necessary financial capacity to support its strategy." Mahamadou Bonkoungou has also committed to making available to the group, throughout 2023, CFA10 billion in the form of blocked shareholder account to stabilize the financial health of the group.

While at the end of December 2019, BTCI had negative equity (-11 billion FCFA), Lomé requires a strengthening of the institution's equity by the end of the first half of 2022.

Since November 11, BTCI became International Business Bank Togo or IB bank Togo.

The Togolese Post office launched its fintech mobile app last Friday. The E-poste app offers mobile banking, bill payment, university fee payment, and bus booking services.

"E-poste offers diversified functionalities ranging from account to account transfers or cash withdrawal to the payment of water and electricity bills, as well as social contributions to the CNSS, taxes to the OTR, and university fees," said the post office which also delivers packages and mails.

"Post office fees and ‘Courrier’ transport tickets,” can also be paid via the app, we learn.

Armand Awata, director of financial clientele at the post office, added that the new app “should help get rid of long queues in post offices and reduce crowding amid the Covid-19 pandemic.”

E-poste’s launch - while being a significant milestone in the post office’s digital transformation - is not the State company’s first move in this direction. Indeed, it previously launched E-colis,  Assiyeyeme (an e-commerce website), and Postraker (an app that tracks package deliveries). These efforts, according to experts, should improve financial inclusion in Togo.

“E-poste is just one link in the chain of digitalized services already offered or to come from the Post," said Kwadzo Dzodzro Kwasi, CEO of the institution that "is working hard" to “not be excluded from the technological revolution.” 

According to the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the future of the Post is in e-commerce and the digitalization of postal services.