Togo will, again, try to raise CFA30 billion on the WAEMU stock market. The country’s public treasury just launched a simultaneous issue of fungible treasury bonds and bills. The operation closes next Friday, May 19.

According to the issue’s notice, Lomé seeks CFA20 billion through the bonds and 10 billion through the bills. The former has a nominal value of CFA10,000 and two interest rates–6% and 6.25% (with respective maturities of 3 and 5 years). The latter matures over 182 days and has a multiple interest rate and a nominal value of CFA1 million per unit. 

It is worth emphasizing that Togo has successfully carried out its three latest issues on the regional money market. 

Esaïe Edoh

Togolese authorities are working on a plan to equip Lomé, the capital, with an urban transport system that integrates changes in demographics. Works for the document’s elaboration started on May 16, after a ceremony organized by the Ministry of Road, air, and rail transport. 

Known as the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP),  the plan’s elaboration is co-funded by the European Union Commission and the Covenant of Mayors for Sub-Saharan Africa (CoMSSA). The two entities pumped €600,000 into the project. 

"Based on an approach that heavily relies on the multimodality of a transport system which is currently structured primarily around motorcycles and private cars, the SUMPs should guide the evolution of the transport system towards a greater balance between the different modes of travel," said the representative of the Minister of Transport, Michel Komlan Tindano.

This plan should help to address challenges such as road congestion, air pollution, road safety, and limited access to basic social services and equipment for inhabitants of the peripheral neighborhoods of Greater Lomé.

Lomé’s SUMP should be available in 14 months, according to the Ministry of Transport. During this period, a restructuring study of the Lomé Transport Company (SOTRAL) will be conducted.

The elaboration of the new mobility plan falls under a strategic project titled: "Development Plan for the 10 main municipalities". The latter is also part of the Togo 2025 Government Roadmap.

After Lomé, the project will be replicated in other cities of Togo.

Esaïe Edoh

Lomé will host Africa50’s Infra for Africa forum and the General Assembly of its shareholders on June 3-4, 2023. This will be the event’s first edition, and it will be held under the patronage of Togo’s President, Faure Gnassingbé.

The forum, which will focus on financing infrastructure in Africa, will gather leaders from different sectors, including banking; with "Bankable, scalable, reproducible", as the guiding theme. 

Africa50 is a pan-African fund established by African governments and the African Development Bank (ADB). Its main goal is bridging Africa’s financing gap in infrastructure. Africa50 prioritizes investments in sectors such as energy, transport, ICT, midstream gas, fintech, health, and education.

With a capital valued at $740 million, the Fund’s shareholders include African countries, including Togo.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo and Senegal want to bolster their cooperation. The subject was discussed last Thursday, May 11, during a meeting between Edem Tengue, Togo’s minister of maritime economy, and Achille Gueye, director general of the Senegalese Agency for maritime affairs (ASAM). 

The two officials covered various issues, such as ways to fight piracy and illicit trafficking in the Gulf of Guinea. They also agreed to cooperate more to better protect ships in this area. There was also the issue of the L’Everest, a Togolese ship held in Senegal. The two men explored ways to handle the issue favorably. 

The meeting was also the occasion to highlight the challenges and opportunities of the Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa (OMAOC), to develop the maritime sector in the region.

Tengue and Gueye met on the sidelines of the WAEMU’s 8th Advisory Committee meeting on maritime transport. The latter was held in Togo, on May 9-11. And some weeks ago, Edem Tengue also met Brazilian officials, to discuss how to boost cooperation with the Southern American country in the maritime sector.

A biodiversity preservation project was launched in the Central region of Togo last Friday, May 12. The project, according to Agence Togolese de Presse, covers the Dibidjo mountain in Afadadè, and the Kalo River banks in Avadadè. 

The project, valued at CFA21 million, is financed by the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF/SGP), as part of a collaboration between Togo and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

During the launching ceremony, parties involved and government officials presented the project’s objectives and planned activities. Regarding the objectives, the project aims to strengthen the viability of fragile ecosystems on the slopes of the Dibidjo mountain and the banks of the Kalo River, through enrichment and reforestation actions on 100 hectares. 

"Decades ago, these two areas were almost the microclimates and supply areas for fruit products in these localities. But it should be noted that these lands are now experiencing extensive degradation, consequences of human activities," explains Gbele-Guewe Djobo Ousmane, coordinator of the NGO CAV which is behind the project. The coordinator added that the project will help tackle climate change and its impacts. 

Under the project, beekeeping and gardening activities are also planned to enable the people of Afadadè and Avadadè to earn more revenue. The project is expected to end in April 2025.

Togo's telecom regulator, ARCEP, has launched an app called My Perf to measure the quality of internet connections across the country. The app is available on Google's Play Store and aims to help users assess their internet speed and obtain clear data on their network's performance. 

My Perf provides data on download speed, transfer speed, and latency. Additionally, it features an interactive map that allows users to check internet performance in a city or region.

A few weeks ago, ARCEP reported an improvement in mobile connectivity costs in Togo. In a report released at the end of April, the watchdog stated that overall costs for Moov Africa and Togocel decreased by 71% and 63%, respectively, between Q1 2021 and April 2023. The report also noted that entry-level tariffs in Togo have converged towards the regional average, but average entry-level tariffs remain high, over six times the tariffs recorded at the top end of the market. This represents the widest gap among the eight countries of the WAEMU region. The findings underscore the evolution of connectivity tariffs in Togo, amid competition between the two providers and pressure from the regulator.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo’s President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé received the Grand Prix d’honneur during the 4th BRVM Awards hosted in Lomé on May 10 and 11. The event’s theme was “Capital Markets and Economic Resilience”.

According to the Awards’ organizers, Gnassingbé received the prize for the several reforms that Togo adopted to achieve economic growth and modernization in recent years. He was acknowledged for his commitment to regional integration and the development of WAEMU’s financial market.

The minister of finance and economy Sani Yaya also received the “Prix Spécial” for contributing to the BRVM’s growth during his tenure as head of the WAEMU’s Council of Ministers.

Besides the two Togolese, eight more actors from the region were rewarded for their commitment and contribution to the BRVM’s dynamism. 

During the 2023 BRVM Awards, several actors from the stock exchange shared insights about the stock market’s growth, and roadblocks to integration, among others

Esaïe Edoh 

Togo is the fourth most important actor on the BRVM, the stock market of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). This was recently revealed by the stock’s boss, Edoh Kossi Amenounve. 

According to him, the country, which has the 7th highest GDP in the WAEMU, has a market capitalization of 497 billion CFA francs in the equities segment and two listed companies, making it a significant player in the market.

In the bond segment, Togo has 17 bond lines valued at 609.9 billion CFA francs. In this segment, Togo comes right behind countries like Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Burkina Faso. Some of the bonds were issued by regional organizations headquartered in Lomé, such as the CRRH-WAEMU and the EBID.

The figures were disclosed during the opening ceremony of the BRVM Awards in Lomé on May 10th. Launched in 2020, the BRVM Awards are a joint initiative of the BRVM and the Central Depository/Settlement Bank (DC/BR). They recognize major contributions to the BRVM’s activity and growth.

During this 4th edition of the BRVM Awards, the President of Togo, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, and the former president of WAEMU’s Council of Ministers, Sani Yaya, received special honors for their contributions to Togo's economic development.

Prime Minister Victoire Dogbé, who presided over the opening of this 4th edition, underscored her government's commitment to making Togolese firms more visible on the regional exchange. A commitment that aligns with the authorities’ ambition to make Togo a financial hub in Africa. Dogbé pointed out that the BRVM must help drive inclusive growth and promote sustainable development in Togo.

The two Togolese companies listed on the BRVM are Oragroup and the Ecobank group. They are both very active on the market, and Ecobank is among the ten most valued companies on the exchange.