Togo First
Togo gets additional CFA5 billion from BOAD for newly-inaugurated power plant in Blitta
The West African Development Bank (BOAD) has disbursed additional financing of CFA5 billion for the Sheik Mohamed Bin Zayed plant in Togo. The plant, which was inaugurated on June 22 by Faure Gnassingbé, had already benefited from a CFA7 billion facility from the regional lender.
The news was disclosed at the end of last week by the BOAD itself.
The new funds, the bank says, will serve to expand the plant’s output from 30 MWp to 50 MWp. Adding the new financing, the total cost of the infrastructure is now CFA26 billion. It is co-financed by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).
It should be noted that about two months ago, a 47 MW turbine was launched at the Kekeli Efficient Power thermal plant. This was the plant’s first turbine. A second one, with a capacity of 18 MW, should be launched by the end of the year.
All these projects align with Togo’s efforts to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030, with renewables contributing 50% of its energy mix. The country should benefit from Nigeria’s power surplus, via the North Core regional project.
Klétus Situ
India now has an embassy in Togo
India opened on Saturday, June 26, its embassy in Togo. That day, Sanjiv Tandon, the Indian ambassador to Togo, presented his credentials to Togo’s foreign affairs minister Robert Dussey.
The embassy was opened a day after Exim Bank of India signed an agreement to lend Togo CFA22 billion for a major electrification project covering 350 communities.
Also, Amea Power, an Indian power developer, actively contributed to the construction of Blitta’s new power plant which was inaugurated on June 22, 2021. The company is in charge of the infrastructure’s maintenance.
The engagement of these Indian companies, according to Robert Dussey, attests to the excellent relationship between Togo and India. “Cooperation between our countries is very dynamic in the sectors of energy, industry, and agriculture,” the Togolese diplomat tweeted.
Let’s recall that between 2015 and 2019, New Delhi loaned $11 billion to more than 20 African countries. Togo injected the funds it secured from the Asian giant into electricity and agriculture projects.
Esaïe Edoh
BOAD approves CFA11 billion financing for an agricultural project in the Oti region
A few days ago, the executive board of the Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement (BOAD) approved the disbursement of CFA10.7 billion for some agricultural development works in Togo.
The works, which fall under the PATA-OTI, a project covering the Oti region, will specifically be carried out in the fourth zone (Sadori, Fare, and Koukombou) and fifth zone (Nali and Koulifiekou) of this project.
The goal of the project is to make it easier for producers in the region concerned to access modern production inputs, boost agricultural productivity, and create conditions that will foster the emergence of agro-entrepreneurs. Under the same project, the region is set to produce rice, on an industrial scale, and host a sugar plant.
The PATI-OTI is a four-year project launched in 2018. With an estimated cost of CFA72 billion, it is backed not only by the BOAD but also by the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and the OPEC Fund for International Development.
Klétus Situ
Bamako Forum picks Jonas Aklesso Daou as African Entrepreneur of the Year
Jonas Aklesso Daou, CEO of Zener (formerly Sodigaz), won the African Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Bamako Forum held last month. The forum, a top-level brainstorming gathering focused on Africa’s future, is held once a year and it has been over the past two decades.
The award recognizes the commitment of the young Togolese entrepreneur, who, with his company, makes an impact in his sector. The SME, which operates in energy, industry, and service, “has become one of the major actors in these key sectors and it has also expanded in Benin and Burkina Faso, with more than 500 employees,” Daou declared.
Zener, Togo’s leading gas trading company, has a terminal in Togo. It exports most of its output. Besides this company, Jonas Daou is also active in the metallurgy industry, car sales, digital counseling, and services.
Last month, the Togolese businessman raised the capital of one of his other companies, Diwa International, a car dealer, to over CFA1 billion. With that company, he joined the Elite Lounge BRVM program. The latter is the 3rd compartment of the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), dedicated to the SME/SMI of the Uemoa.
Since September 2020, he has been at the top of the Association of Large Enterprises of Togo.
Esaïe Edoh
ICAT to supply farmers with over a million cocoa and coffee seedlings in the new season
Cocoa and coffee farmers will receive, in the coming agricultural campaign, 1,195,000 seedlings from the Technical Support and Council Institute (ICAT). These respectively break down into 635,000 coffee seedlings and 560,000 cocoa seedlings.
They were produced and picked by the ICAT to boost the country’s output, as performances in the previous campaign were mitigated.
This goal is also shared by the ministry of agriculture which wants to raise plantations’ yield by 10% every year. The ministry plans to develop 340 ha of new coffee plantations and 287 ha of cocoa plantations.
Regarding production, Togo’s coffee output dropped to 19,184 t last year from 21,316 t in 2019. Cocoa production on the contrary rose, from 12,674 t in 2018 to 14,264 t in 2019 and 15,690 t in 2020. The figures can be found in the annual report of the Central Bank of West African States (Banque Centrale des Etats d’Afrique de l’Ouest - BCEAO).
Government determined to make competition fairer in the telecom sector
A draft decree to identify the most relevant segments of Togo’s telecom sector was examined during the council of ministers held last Thursday.
The decree, which takes into account the sector’s needs and demands, also aims to find out who are the most “powerful” operators in the key segments identified.
The move, according to the government, aims to help optimize the regulation of the electronic communications sector (ed. Note: by the ARCEP, the regulatory body) and foster fair competition among operators.
Once the decree is adopted, the regulator will, every year, issue a report assessing the state of the digital communications market. This report will be examined by the council of ministers.
Klétus Situ
Cina Lawson inaugurates Operating Maintenance Center-Radio
Last Thursday, Cina Lawson, the Togolese Minister of digital economy and digitalization, inaugurated the Operating Maintenance Center-Radio, a facility tasked with monitoring, in real-time, the quality of mobile networks’ services in Togo.
Established by the ARCEP, the country’s telecoms regulator, the new center has cutting-edge technology directly connected to Moov and Togocel’s databases.
This should allow the regulator to have access to data related to the quality of services provided by the telecom operators. “These are data on technical performances,” said the regulator.
With this mechanism, says Michel Yaovi Galley, Director of ARCEP, “we don’t have to wait for the consumer’s complaint before taking action.”
For her part, Cina Lawson said it should help "provide the same quality of service to populations living in the interior part of the country, per the 2020-2025 governmental roadmap, and provide comfort to electronic communication users, as aimed by the 2025 Togo Digital strategy."
Forum Afrique 2021: Togo will showcase its agro-industrial sector
Next July 1st, a panel on agroindustrial transformation in Togo will be held during the Forum Afrique 2021. The information was disclosed by the event’s organizer, the Conseil français des investisseurs en Afrique (CIAN).
The panel will be hosted by Shegun Adjadi Bakari, the Presidential Advisor. He will showcase the efforts Togo made regarding agro-industrial transformation and also investment opportunities in this sector.
Besides the panel focused on Togo, many others will be held - all with a focus on Africa’s economic recovery after the Covid-19.
The opening speech of the forum will be given by Togo’s Prime Minister Victoire Tomegah-Dogbe, and the closing speech by Côte d’Ivoire’s PM, Patrick Achi.
The forum, which will be held in Paris, will be broadcast on social networks. The chosen theme for the event is “Businesses in Africa: A new pact for recovery.”
The CIAN - the forum’s organizer - regroups French industrial and service firms. It supports Africa’s development through investments made in many sectors.
Esaïe Edoh
ARCEP gets new draft decree to better handle disputes
The council of ministers adopted last Wednesday a draft decree defining the ARCEP’s conflict resolution, sanctions, and conciliation processes. The ARCEP is Togo’s e-communication and posts regulator.
“This draft decree, which simultaneously aims to protect consumer rights and the interests of operators in the sector, aims to specify the rules for conciliation, the handling of disputes and the application of sanctions by ARCEP,” a statement from the council of ministers read.
Since it was established, the regulator has initiated many reforms, carried out sanctions, and issued heavy fines, all to bring order to the Togolese telecom sector.
Klétus Situ
Covid-19: World Bank approves additional financing of $20M for Togo
The World Bank announced last Thursday it approved additional financing of $20 million (about CFA11 billion) by the International Development Association (IDA) for Togo. The latter will use the funds to boost support to people who are most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the World Bank, the facility will be dedicated to the Social Nets and Services (FSB) project and it will specifically help “bolster the emergency aid that the Togolese government provided to populations to better face the COVID-19 consequences.”
Besides, these funds will enable the expansion of the government-led cash-transfer scheme for the most vulnerable and poorest people in the country.
Hawa Wague, Resident Representative of the World Bank in Togo, said: “By fostering the expansion of social security nets and cash transfers for those who need it most, while helping their businesses recover, this additional financing aligns with the government’s response against COVID-19, initiated via the Novissi program, and it will allow the country to put in place a social protection system which can tackle other shocks in the future.”
Let’s recall that recently, the World Bank approved financing of CFA16 billion to help Togolese authorities carry out Covid-19 vaccination campaigns across the country.
Esaïe Edoh