Togo First
Togo: Gvt will Soon Set Up an Agency for its Digital Projects
Agence Togo Digital (ATD) is the name of the agency that the Togolese government will soon set up to coordinate all its digital projects. A draft bill for its creation, organization, and operation was examined and adopted last Wednesday, during the council of ministers.
The new agency will back the government in the implementation of its digital projects - projects that concern 75% of the 5-year roadmap. It will also “ensure their relevance and the efficient use of State resources,” reads the statement issued after the ministers’ council.
Another mission of the ATD is to help ministries and public administrations digitize their services.
The related bill’s examination seems to align with Lomé’s ambition to use the digital industry as a lever to achieve inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Last March, the government passed a decree to dematerialize payment modes in public administration and focused on financial inclusion.
Still, in line with the same ambition, Togo established last June its first center to store and secure sensitive data - Lomé Data Center.
Esaïe Edoh
Shelter Afrique to commence affordable housing project very soon in Togo
Togo’s President, Faure Gnassingbé, met with Shelter Afrique’s CEO, Andrew Chimphondah, last Thursday. Just after the meeting, Chimphondah said the firm would send to Lomé a technical team for the effective launch of its social housing project in the capital.
The project falls under a public-private partnership inked by the State and Shelter Afrique last March.
“We talked about the partnership between Shelter Afrique and Togo. This partnership includes supporting the construction of 20,000 social housing units, a project that is part of Togo’s development plan,” said Andrew Chimphondah.
Under the agreement, Shelter Afrique will partly finance the construction of 3,000 affordable social housing units in Togo. It will also act as an arranger to gather the rest of the financing needed from other investors.
The Togolese government, let’s recall, wanted to build 20,000 social housing units by 2022, but the deadline has been extended to 2025 due to Covid-19.
For this project, the country is supported by the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) Commission, through the WAEMU Affordable Housing Finance Project (financed by the IDA).
Esaïe Edoh
Spurred by economic recovery, Togo’s economy is expected to grow 6.1% in 2022
Togo expects its real GDP to grow 6.1% as the economy recovers. The forecast, written in the 2022-2024 multi-year economic and budgetary planning document (DPBEP 2022-2024), was discussed on Sept. 30 by deputies during a budget orientation debate.
The projection beats the 4.8% growth expected for 2021, and last year’s estimated growth of 1.8% as the country was hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In 2022-2024, the national macroeconomic environment will be marked by the implementation of the post-Covid-19 economic recovery plan, in line with the government's development policy contained in the updated PND,” the national assembly said.
Next year, the DPBEP projects budget earnings to stand at CFA1,035.3 billion, thus up 23.3% compared to this year. And if the economy recovers well, they should reach CFA1,060.9 billion and 1,092.5 billion in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Regarding expenditures, they are expected at CFA1289.3 billion in 2022, up 15% against CFA1,120.4 billion in 2021.
It is worth noting that the positive forecast is issued amid uncertain times, worldwide; times when Covid-related pressures remain, despite many efforts to tackle them and restart the global economic machine.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Covid-19: Sanitary pass now compulsory to access Lomé’s airport
Anyone who wants to access Lomé’s airport must show a Covid vaccination pass or a negative PCR test dating back less than 72 hours, effective next week.
The announcement was made by Col. Dokissime Gnama Latta, Director of Société aéroportuaire de Lomé-Tokoin (SALT), in a note issued on September 29, 2021.
“Effective Monday, October 04, 2021, access to the terminal is contingent upon presentation of proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test less than seventy-two (72) hours old,” SALT’s boss said.
The new measure “aims to efficiently prevent Covid-19 from spreading,” explained the official. He then urged “all those who have not been vaccinated yet to do so without delay.”
Last month, let it be recalled, the government imposed the presentation of proof of vaccination to access administrative buildings; this was as the number of Covid cases was rising. Many other sites, with a high number of visitors, adopted the same measure such as the port of Lomé.
To date, the government has distributed one million doses of vaccine, or 121 doses per 1,000 inhabitants, accounting for 4.9% of fully vaccinated subjects, according to data compiled by the Financial Times.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
PM Dogbe urges ministers to get ready for property and assets declaration
In Togo, the provision relating to the declaration of property and assets will apply first to members of the government. Prime Minister Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé, during the council of ministers held last Wednesday, urged ministers to get ready to comply with the procedure.
WAEMU: Togo is the 3rd country to earn the most from privatization in the Union
Togo is the third country in the WAEMU to have earned the most from privatizing its companies - $104 million or CFA58 billion (for 78 firms). According to Kapi Consult, which disclosed the information, Togo comes behind Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal.
The first two raised $423 million and $217 million by privatizing 82 and 75 companies, respectively. Right behind Togo is Mali, with $100 million generated through 88 privatization operations.
A few days ago, the Togolese State announced that it has sold its stake in Banque Togolaise du Commerce et de l'Industrie (BTCI) to IB Holding. This means it is now the sole shareholder in only 16 companies, including the autonomous port of Lomé, the Société Nouvelle des Phosphates du Togo (SNPT), and hotels such as Kara, Sarakawa, and Roch Hôtel.
The State also holds shares in 26 other firms, including SOTRAL (Société de Transports de Lomé), of which it holds 96%, T-oil gas stations (79%), la Société togolaise de stockage de Lomé (STSL), Société aéroportuaire de Lomé (SALT) which manages the airport of Lomé (60%).
Union togolaise des banques (UTB), one of the companies fully-owned by the State, is also being privatized.
Esaïe Edoh
Lomé-based Incubator, Energy Generation, launches training program for women only
Energy Generation, an incubator based in Lome, is launching an entrepreneurship excellence program for women only. The Wenyonu program as it is called will teach Togolese women solar entrepreneurship to empower them.
In this framework, the incubator issued this month a call for registration to select 80 women across Togo’s five economic regions. Selected applicants will be trained as technical commercials in the solar energy sector.
Backed by the PISCCA Fund (established by the French embassy in Togo), the program will provide technical training in sizing, setting up, and maintaining PV solar systems. Personalized coaching and entrepreneurial training will also be given, and business projects could be financed through a loan mechanism.
“Women who have a business project could get seed funding,” Energy Generation said. “The whole program will take place in Lomé and is free. Some money will be provided for women picked to attend the program, to reduce their spending, enable them to come to Lomé and stay throughout the training.”
This is a 3-month training (January to March 2022) that will be held on Energy Generation’s campus in Lomé. For those who need it, the incubator’s support could be extended to December 2022.
Doing Business: “The report’s discontinuation won’t have any impact on the reforms’ dynamic,” Sandra Johnson says
Togo will keep introducing business-friendly reforms regardless of the discontinuation of the World Bank’s Doing Business report. Sandra Ablamba Johnson, minister secretary-general in charge of business climate, made the statement on Sept. 28 in an interview.
“The report’s discontinuation won’t have any impact on the reforms’ dynamic,” she said. Johnson explained further saying the reforms, which are aimed at attracting investments in the country, were not solely implemented for the sake of the Doing Business. They were driven by “the leadership of the Head of State who always wanted to make Togo a safe place for investments.”
The Doing Business, she continued, “is an encouraging tool, not a coercive one.” “Our efforts to improve the business climate are aimed at improving the living standards of the Togolese people; they don’t target rankings or observers.”
As a reminder, driven by several reforms, Togo gained 40 points in the 2020 DB report. It was ranked 97th in the report, the best reformer in Africa, and the 3rd best in the world.
The Doing Business was a report that assessed the ease of doing business in various countries. It was canceled on September 17, 2021, due to many irregularities found in the 2018 and 2020 editions. Togo was not affected by the findings, according to the World Bank.
Esaïe Edoh
2020 Ranking of Banks Operating in Togo
Togo First presents the 2020 ranking of banks operating in Togo, by assets, deposits, and loans.
With a total balance sheet of CFA710 billion, Orabank kept its position as the leading bank in Togo in 2020. It came far ahead of the runner-up Ecobank (CFA462 billion).
Orabank, which is headed by the Cameroonian Guy Awona, is also the country’s first lender, with outstanding loans valued at more than CFAF 414 billion. The same goes for deposits collected; they stood above CFA366 billion at the end of 2020.
While Ecobank has maintained its second place in terms of assets and deposits, the pan-African bank has lost its position as Togo’s second-largest lender in 2020 to Union Togolaise de Banque (UTB). Ecobank's lending to the economy fell by 21%, due to Covid-19. Meanwhile, UTB, which is being privatized, lent CFA170 to the economy; that is 9% more than it did in 2019.
The fastest-growing bank last year was Coris Bank International. Its assets more than doubled (50.9%) as deposits soared 27% to stand at CFA126 billion. Its loans also grew, passing CFA100 billion for the first time. Idrissa Nassa’s bank was the third-largest bank in the country, ahead of BTCI, UTB, and Banque Atlantique.
In contrast, Société Générale’s assets slumped slightly (-0.53%). Assets of Société InterAfricaine de Banque (SIAB) were also down, standing at CFA10.1 billion. The financial intermediary barely meets the minimum capital requirement set by WAEMU’s banking commission.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
ASKY boosts connectivity in Africa
Pan-African Airlines Asky announced it will, starting next Oct. 1, increase flights to most of its destinations. This is part of the company’s efforts to improve its connectivity across the continent.
Asky, which is based in Lomé, will fly every day to Abuja, Bamako, Conakry, Monrovia, and N’djamena. It will serve Accra on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
According to the statement published by the carrier, the change in flight schedules aims to “improve connectivity, increase frequencies, and provide a flawless daily service in a very short delay.”
The measure aligns with Togolese authorities’ ambition to make Lomé’s airport a first-class logistics hub in terms of passenger traffic. This was also why the airport was renovated in 2016. The infrastructure can presently receive 2 million passengers per year.
Esaïe Edoh