After recently making the headlines, Ghislain Awaga, the young Togolese who made a fortune with trading is “facing some economic difficulties” with his company Global Trade Corporation (GTC). 

The firm, for some months now, has stopped paying its investors. A situation which its promoter, Awaga himself, attributes to the company’s migration towards the real economy. 

The young CEO indeed recently initiated various projects in the housing and agribusiness sector. A conversion that is not going so well. Commenting on the crisis, Awaga said it is “temporary” while still considering going into “receivership.” 

“GTC is not shutting down contrary to what many people think...The staff will continue its usual work and will remain available to answer any of the investors’ concerns,” the firm indicated. 

In parallel, CACESPIC-IF, another trading firm promising huge dividends to its investors (up to 300%) was placed under receivership in January 2021, leaving its investors in total disarray. 

Séna Akoda

Last week, in Notsè (Plateaux region), local communities established the Intermunicipal Association for the Development of the Plateaux region (AIDAP). The association’s purpose is the concerted management of agro-pastoral infrastructures and the planification of joint actions to develop the region. 

“We came here to assess and adopt rules that will set up the association of municipalities concerned by agropastoralism. This is a matter of solidarity. The various municipal councils must deliberate on these rules’ content so that municipalities without agro-pastoral infrastructures can benefit from those that have them. That is the advantage of the inter-municipal association,” declared Atara Ifaraba, mayor of Anié 1 and chairman of the newly-established association. 

By promoting a strong collaboration between local municipalities, the AIDAP wishes to help make the movement of herds safer and tackle issues of herdsmen of the region, by improving their access to pastoral spaces. The inter-municipal association benefits from the technical support of Enterprise Territoires et Développement (ETD), an agricultural NGO, and the financial support of Acting for Life. 

Klétus Situ

Togo’s telecom regulator, ARCEP, plans to update the postal regulation in place in the country. 

In effect, the regulator launched a process to recruit a consultant to perform this task. The process will close on March 19, 2021. 

The current regulation, it should be noted, dates from 1999. This is in a context where the Postal Office keeps diversifying its activities. Indeed, in addition to mail distribution, it provides financial services through Postal Check Centres (CCPs), money transfer, and transportation. 

Direct rivals of the Togolese Post Office are DHL, FedEx UPS, and Top Chrono, all global leaders. 

Séna Akoda

Three Togolese were among the Top 10 bearers of the most innovative AI projects drawn by the jury of the World Africa Startups Summit (WASS) which will be held from April 8 to 10, 2021, in Lomé. 

Out of 50 projects submitted by candidates from eight countries, Dobbee Pay, Solimi Fintech, and Artybe, which are respectively spearheaded by the Togolese Kokou Nouvor, Egbidi Matina, and Nouhova Laura Kpegli, are on the shortlist drawn by the WASS’ jury. 

Zoom in on the Three Togolese projects

Kokou Nouvor and his collaborators operate in the fintech sector. With Dobbee Pay, they aim to create a platform that allows its users to receive and transfer money via mobile money, banks, and cryptocurrency platforms. This digital tool’s particularity is to “establish an interoperability link between existing payment means and enable users to make grouped payments to a maximum of one million people, in one click.”

The second project, Solimi Fintech, which was conceived by Egbidi Matina, has a mission to reduce by 40% the use of cash within five years by democratizing access to financial services. 

In the long run, she says, the project should foster “the creation, using AI, of a world where it will be possible to manage all financial or commercial transactions online.” A chatbot will be integrated into the app, according to its promoter. 

Last is Artybe. Developed by Laura Nouhova Kpegli, it is a platform that combines AI with African culture to “promote Togo as an exceptional touristic destination where the environment is preserved for future generations.” 

Beyond promoting tourism, the app will also serve as a learning platform (IT, fitness, agriculture, swimming, etc). Based on their availability, and financial capacity, users will be able to “create themselves a tailored course taking into account their wants and the country’s riches.”

Besides Togo, other projects selected came from Benin, Morocco, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire.

Séna Akoda

After two successful issues, Togo plans to raise by March 19, CFA20 billion on the regional financial market. 

This time, Lomé will issue public treasury bonds, which will mature over seven years. According to the UMOA-securities, the bonds (recovery bonds) have a nominal value of CFA10,000 each and an interest rate of 6.3% per year.

Let it be noted that Togo mobilized CFA62 billion through its two previous issues on the same market. For the first where it also sought CFA20 billion, investors raised CFA112 billion, and the second subscription stood at CFA148 billion while the country was seeking only 40 billion. 

Séna Akoda

In Togo, the UNDP office backs the ongoing decentralization launched in the country. Indeed, the UN agency recently donated IT equipment and office furniture for 60 local communities. 

The donation, worth CFA190 million, should enable beneficiaries to better operate while improving the quality of public services provided to populations. 

During the ceremony for the provision of the equipment, the minister delegate for territorial development, the UNDP’s resident representative, Aliou Dia, announced a digitalization project targeting municipalities. The project aims to “dematerialize birth certificate declaration to improve registration and issuance.” The pilot phase will begin in Lacs 1 and Ogou 2 municipalities. 

The UNDP, a key partner of the Togolese government, backs the country in many sustainable development projects, as well as in projects involving gender issues, society, and supporting the private sector. 

Klétus Situ

The World Bank has approved $70 million (CFA38.5 billion) to enable Togo to take an important step towards expanding health coverage to its entire population, which until now was reserved for public servants. 

In a press release sent to Togo First, the Bretton Woods institution says that it wants, through this support, "to help Togo lay the foundations for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to ensure that the population has access to quality health services."

It should be recalled that Togo is striving to achieve UHC. It recently launched the pilot phase for this project and it was managed by the INAM.

Universal health coverage should help improve access to basic health services through the construction and equipping of health centers. Also, it should allow more qualified human resources to serve the most disadvantaged regions. This is in a context where most households, especially the poorest, spend a lot on health services. 

The main challenge will be "to generalize health coverage for a large part of the Togolese population, especially the most vulnerable citizens, pregnant women, and children," says the Washington-based institution.

Moreover, "the project will help boost human capital in the country by helping Togo to make a significant leap towards achieving its development objectives contained in its National Health Development Plan," notes Hawa Wagué, World Bank Resident Representative for Togo.

Last November, let’s recall, the Togolese government adopted a bill on universal health coverage.

Séna Akoda

The Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEP) will benefit from an additional $22.5 million (CFA12.3 billion). The facility was approved on March 11, 2021, by the World Bank.

These resources allocated in the form of grants from the International Development Association (IDA) and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) aim to support the development of the market for stand-alone solar systems in West and Central Africa, particularly in the Sahel countries. This facility complements the first round of financing of CFA150 billion approved in April 2019 by the Washington-based institution through its branch dedicated to developing countries and $67.2 million made available by the CTF. 

In total, 19 countries, including Togo, are covered by the project. "It will support activities to accelerate the deployment of stand-alone solar systems in a region where 50% of the population has no access to electricity, and less than 3% of its inhabitants use this type of innovative technology," says the World Bank.

The project reinforces the momentum to develop a regional off-grid market, through the harmonization of policies, standards, and trade procedures.

According to the World Bank, the initiative will also support energy companies, that promote off-grid, with acceleration programs and provide aid and loans for the deployment of off-grid solar home installations. 

Regarding Togo, the report of a study published in 2019 by ROGEP showed that the country had a potential market for the Off-Grid estimated at 500,000 households subdivided into 3 categories: households, productive systems (mills, drinking water supply), and public services (schools, health centers).

In addition to the ROGEP, several private operators, including Bboxx, Soleva, and Fénix, have joined the CIZO initiative, a flagship program for rural electrification using individual solar kits in Togo.

Séna Akoda