Togo and the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) are to sign today an economic and technical partnership agreement, under which the West African nation will benefit from Singapore’s experience to develop its economy. 

According to the Togolese minister for investment promotion, Kayi Mivedor, the deal aligns with Lomé’s efforts to boost investments and improve business climate. It should also support the government’s five-year development agreement (2020-2025). 

Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) was established by the Singaporean ministries of trade and foreign affairs. The entity works closely with Singaporean ministries and statutory councils to define and adapt viable solutions that can help foreign government’s meet their needs and achieve their development goals. 

Singapore, according to many experts, is a true miracle in terms of economic development. The Asian country, who became independent in 1965, transformed from a poor country to one of the richest nations in the world, in three decades only. 

Séna Akoda

One of the global leaders of the road infrastructure market, Vinci, is looking to join the project to double the Lomé-Cinkassé road (National Road N°1) in Togo. The French firm will operate through its Togolese subsidiary Sogea-Satom. 

Subsequent to a meeting with President Gnassingbé in France, Jean-Michel Guelaud, chairman of Sogean-Satom declared: “The Head of State asked us about our interest in the upcoming big infrastructure projects, among which is the national road n°1 project and its doubling in the short term. The President told me he wanted to rapidly launch the project, saying the related project company had been established and that tenders would soon be launched. In response, I confirmed to him that Sogea Satom would actively take part in these operations and try to secure the contracts.” 

Guelaud then reminded that Sogea-Satom was in charge of construction works at the Adetikope Industrial Platform (PIA). 

Regarding the PIA, it should be noted that Arise IIP, subsidiary of Olam, is the project’s concessionaire for 25 years. Arise IS, also an arm of the Singaporean company (dedicated to infrastructure), expressed great interest in taking part in the project to double the national road n°1, which is one of the flagship projects of Togo’s 2018-2022 national development plan (PND 2018-2022). 

Séna Akoda

Akin Dada is the new Group Executive, Corporate and Investment Bank of the Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) Group. Executive Director of Ecobank Nigeria’s Corporate Bank division since 2017, Dada now takes the place of Amin Manekia who has retired. 

A graduate of Warwick Business School, Akin Dada has over 30 years of experience in banking, 26 of which he spent working for Citigroup, the South African holding. This expert notably headed the holding’s Cameroonian subsidiary, boosting the latter’s revenues substantially (+72% between 2011 and 2014). He also briefly worked at Access Bank Nigeria. Dada was in charge of the lender’s oil and gas and helped boost the division’s revenues by 56% in two years only. 

As ETI’s group executive for Corporate and Investment Bank, the Nigerian financier’s main responsibility is to assess and leverage various investment opportunities resulting from the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). 

Commenting on his fellow countryman’s appointment, Ecobank’s CEO, Ade Ayeyemi, said: “Akin’s valuable and varied experience over many years in corporate banking, as well as his broader knowledge of banking, credit, and risk management, positions him appropriately to lead our Corporate and Investment Bank. There are huge opportunities for the Ecobank Group with the implementation of the AfCFTA, which heralds burgeoning demand for trade finance, advisory services, and cross-border payments.”

Klétus Situ

Togo plans to have a registry dedicated to firms that provide electronic certification services. This aligns with the country's ambition to become a digital hub by 2025.

In this framework, the telecommunication and post regulator (ARCEP) launched a call for expression of interest to select e-administration and trade actors who want to be accredited as Electronic Certification Services' Providers (PSCE). It also includes Quality Services' Providers (PSCQ). 

In detail, the services include the issuance and management of e-certificates, enabling given parties to sign e-documents safely and reliably, as well as electronic archiving services, among others.

The ARCEP's accreditation will add up to the government's efforts to make Togolese trust IT security more. In February 2021, the public authorities launched the Computer Emergency Response Team, to better protect the national cyberspace and enable the Togolese population to safely benefit from the "digitalization of services and administration."

Séna Akoda

Last Thursday, the Togolese minister of trade, Kodjo Adedze, met with a delegation of chocolate makers who belong to the Chocolatiers Engagés association. On this occasion, the parties present explored the creation in Togo of a robust, and prosperous, cocoa value chain. 

Daniel Mercier who chairs the association praised Togo saying he particularly appreciates the “construction of modern market places, the strategic positioning of the autonomous port of Lomé, and the solidarity demonstrated by the government to foster the production of quality cocoa in Togo.” He then confirmed that his association would contribute to “the development of a high-performance industry resulting in the full blossoming of its actors.”

On April 16, Togo will proceed to a triple issue of fungible treasury bonds, with a mobilization target of CFA75 billion. 

The respective maturity periods of the bonds that will be issued are five years (60 months), seven years (84 months), and 10 years (120 months). The proceeds, according to UMOA-securities, will be used to restart the economy post-Covid. 

“The present issue, which is labeled Obligations de Relance OdR, aims to enable the issuer (ed. Note: Togo) to raise funds from people and businesses for meeting the budgetary needs of the State of Togo, in line with its economic recovery strategy, and for containing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and returning to performances recorded before the health crisis,” the UMOA-securities said. 

Regarding the interest rates, they were respectively set at 5.9%, 6.15%, and 6.25% per year. Meanwhile, the securities to be issued have a nominal value of CFA10,000 each. 

Séna Akoda

In Togo, the Socété des Moulins Modernes du Togo (SMMT), a company that makes wheat flour and other wheat-based derivatives has recently set up in the industrial free-trade area. The firm thus becomes the direct rival of Société Générale des Moulins du Togo (SGMT), subsidiary of the SOMDIAA group. 

Operational since March 7, 2021, the complex has a production unit and a quality control laboratory. It spans over 20,000 m². At the moment, its production capacity is about 250 tons per day - a volume it intends to double in the medium term. On April 7, 2021, the SMMT was visited by the Togolese minister of trade, industry, and local consumption, Kodjo Adedze. On the occasion, the official declared: “the establishment of Société des Moulins Modernes du Togo, like other companies that enter the Togolese market, is clear proof of the continuous improvement and dynamism of the business climate.”