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.

Over the past 11 months, the Lomé Container Terminal (LCT) handled one million containers or 1,450,000 TEU. The figure, disclosed last Tuesday, is a new record for the platform which was launched in 2014. Also, it makes the Togolese port the top port of the Gulf of Guinea, in terms of transhipping.

The LCT also drove Lomé among the top 100 ports worldwide, regarding container traffic. In 2020, the Terminal, which was yielded by a JV between China Merchant and Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), handled 1,366,114 TEU, up by 20% compared to 2019, despite Covid-19 hampering economic activity worldwide.

Since its commissioning (which necessitated the financial support of several major actors, such as IFC and Proparco), the volume of containers handled by the Lomé Container Terminal grew nearly 40 times (3,952%).

For the port operator, which receives an average of forty ships per month, "one of the pillars of this growth is the contribution of its main client, which is none other than MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, which has made the Port of Lomé its preferred destination to serve Africa.” The world's second-largest shipowner said it plans to invest more than $30 million in the port by 2020 and $500 million by 2030. 

Overall, the Port of Lomé - which has gradually become, since the launch of LCT, the port of reference for transshipment in the sub-region with over 70% of containers handled being transshipped- continues to distance itself from its main competitors, in this segment. 

Fiacre E. Kakpo

The Société de Gestion et d'Intermédiation (SGI-Togo) has been allowed to conduct online operations on the BRVM stock market. It obtained, on Nov 25, the approval of the Conseil Régional de l'Epargne Publique et des Marchés Financiers (CREPMF) to do so.

The firm can therefore launch digital services that enable its clients to directly manage their accounts (invest on the BRVM, check their wallets, etc.). 

It should be emphasized that the SGI (which applied for approval on November 4, 2021) is not the only institution that obtained the BRVM’s approval to use its online tool. The latter, let’s recall, was launched in September 2020, by BOA Capital Securities.  

By allowing several entities to trade on its market, the BRVM aims to modernize faster - using digital tools- and attract more individual investors to foster the private sector’s growth in the region, and boost market liquidity.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Sandra Ablamba Johnson, the Togolese Minister and Secretary-General of the Presidency took part in a top-level meeting held On Dec. 8, in preparation for the fifth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDCs). On this occasion, she made five major recommendations to better leverage international aid and overcome LDCs’ challenges.

Among others, the Togolese official suggested more financing for LDCs and the private sector, ensuring that developing countries have greater access to Covid-19 vaccines and health infrastructure. Johnson also recommended efforts to dynamize partnerships aimed at boosting LDCs’ capacities and reallocating Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to support economic recovery and achieve universal access to vaccines in Africa.

Before her address, a brainstorming session on the following theme took place: “To what extent has LDC membership reduced the structural handicaps of LDCs and how can international support measures be improved?” The Togolese minister took advantage of this opportunity to present LDCs’ mitigated achievements. 

According to her, LDCs are still vulnerable and progress slowly, especially regarding their structural transformation and productive capacities. This, despite producing more wealth and having higher GDPs. However, Johnson noted that “some countries like Togo are doing well in terms of economic and social development, and show encouraging results.” The development index level of her country, the official reported, grew from 0.46 in 2010 to 0.51 in 2020.

She then expanded on the significant efforts made by the Togolese government to stabilize the macroeconomic framework and greatly improve the business climate.

Esaïe Edoh

The Togolese Agency for the Promotion of Investments and the Free-Trade Zone (API-ZF) will improve its operational model. The move aims to make Togo more attractive to investors. In this framework, the organization held yesterday an information session to discuss the model it will adopt. Other participants included several representatives of the public and private sectors, amongst other stakeholders.  

The new model was designed after consultations between 41 public and private institutions, and it lays the roadmap which will guide the agency’s objectives. Ultimately, the model should allow the API-ZF to better play its role as a cross-cutting body, covering all business sectors.

According to the Minister for Investment Promotion Kayi Mivedor (photo), the goal is to enable the API-ZF "to fully play its role and help attract investment, facilitate the installation of investors in Togo, and also handle post-investment service.”

Adopting a new model also aligns with Togo’s ambitions, set under its five-year roadmap. In particular, to sustain progress made in recent years as part of improving the business climate and attracting FDIs.

Recently, the country launched a website exclusively dedicated to investment. The platform enables investors to access relevant information, proceed to administrative procedures and facilitate their installation, among others.

It is now possible for businesses and professional associations active in Togo to apply to join the national employers’ association (CNP). The 60-year old association recently launched a campaign in this framework.

CNP-Togo offers its new members several advantages, including information services, capacity-building workshops, legal counseling, economic and social advice. It also helps them speed up their growth leveraging its network of over 1,500 businesses and 24 professional associations, said CNP chairman, Laurent Coami Tamegnon.

The institution also defends the interests of its members with the State and its branches.

CNP-Togo, as a representative of the private sector in the face of the government and international organizations, acts as negotiator and flag-bearer of Togolese businesses.

Esaïe Edoh

As the year is about to end, Togo has reached its goal to vaccinate at least a million people against Covid-19. About 1.4 million adults (+18 years) have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the minister of health who disclosed the figure during the council of ministers held yesterday, Dec. 8.

The official attributes the achievement to the fast-paced vaccination campaign launched by the government on November 22 and ended on December 6.

Last October, the government said 1.3 million doses had been administered across the country. 

Also, data gathered by the Financial Times reveals that 4.9% of the Togolese people are fully vaccinated, and 8.7% have received at least one dose. This makes Togo the country with the highest vaccination rate in the WAEMU.

Despite these encouraging results, the council of ministers urged the government to be more involved in the sensitization of the people regarding safety measures and vaccination.

Esaïe Edoh