Togo First
WAEMU: Lomé records third successful 10-year issue on the regional money market
Togo’s public treasury raised CFA27.5 billion on the WAEMU public securities market last Friday. This is the third 10-year maturity issue of the country in 2021; the first and second were carried out in April and July, respectively.
Just like with the two previous issues, the country was initially seeking CFA25 billion on the regional market. Nominal value - CFA10,000 - and interest rate - 6.15% - were similar.
However, there were more subscriptions this time, but the yield was the same as that recorded in July - 6.02%. The yield represented only 22.5% of subscriptions which stood around CFA121 billion. There were 92 bidders.
So far into the year, Togo has raised CFA435.5 billion from regional investors, according to its forecasts, it should mobilize CF135 billion more before the year ends.
Klétus Situ
Togo: 2021-2022 Junior and High School Fees Covered by State
Public junior and high school students will pay no registration or school fees in the 2021-2022 academic year. This was just disclosed by the Togolese government.
The authorities said the move aims to “cushion the pandemic’s impact on vulnerable populations,” and aligns with “efforts to boost the resilience of Togolese populations.”
This social action adds to others taken by the government since the health crisis began; including the Novissi scheme which cost no less than CFA13 billion, and the payment of registration fees for school exams (CFA1.9 billion).
Water and power bills covered by State
The State also paid water and electricity bills for part of the population, for August 2021.
This measure was implemented in April-August 2020. At the time, it covered thousands of people (almost 100,000 water consumers) and cost the State almost CFA10 billion.
Water consumers who benefited from the State’s support had a consumption level ranging between 0 and 10 m3. As for electricity, it concerned consumption of 0 to 40 KWh, for both postpaid and prepaid customers on a 2-wire, 10A maximum subscription and whose use is exclusively domestic.
Ecovillage project: 10 new villages picked to benefit from pilot phase
Ten more villages have been selected to take part in the pilot phase of the ecovillage project. In this framework, a workshop was held in Lomé on August 17. It regrouped officials from the ministry of environment and forest resources, as well as experts of the UNDP which backs the initiative.
The workshop aimed to validate a strategic plan to transform the selected villages, namely Danyi, Folivi Joe, Bolou Ketemé, Sadjibou, and Posa, based on the model developed in Donomadé (Yoto) and Andokpomey (Avé).
In these two villages, the project had positive results. In addition to them, Zanvé, Kotchomé, Doufouli, Amondé, and Nassiété were other villages that benefited from the pilot phase.
“Each of the seven ecovillages that are currently active polarizes at least ten satellite villages which benefit from the investments made in the ecovillage centers. Today, seventy villages in Togo benefit from the ecovillage project,” said Koffi Agbossoumonde who coordinates the project.
Launched in 2014, the ecovillage project aims to promote a sustainable grassroots development model focused on tackling climate change, preserving biodiversity, and supplying clean energy. In the long run, the goal of the project is to transform 500 villages into ecovillages.
Klétus Situ
Cinetpay develops digital platform to ease payment of school fees in Togo
Ivorian startup Cinetpay announced the launch of a digital payment platform for school and university fees in Togo.
According to the press release relaying the information, the Ivorian startup’s platform regroups electronic payment terminals (EPTs) and web platforms that will enable schools and universities to collect registration and tuition fees via mobile money and other electronic channels.
“This platform will allow them to collect online registration and tuition fees, to track all payments in real-time and to automatically send a reminder by email, SMS or Whatsapp to parents, as deadlines approach or in case of delay,” said the Togolese subsidiary of the Ivorian startup specialized in electronic transactions and mobile money.
CinetPay, whose e-schooling platform has a dozen institutional users, added that schools and universities can integrate, into their website, features that ease payments via mobile money, e-wallets, and bank cards.
Created in Côte d'Ivoire and established in Togo a year ago, Cinetpay is a fintech company. Unlike most other fintech firms present in the country, which focus on banking, finance, and e-commerce, it opted for the education sector. Cinetpay aims to win over all Togolese schools and universities by 2023.
This ambition aligns with the Togolese government’s 2020-2025 roadmap; under which Togo is set to become a reference in the digital sector, through the transformation and growth of the digital economy.
Togo: Gvt’ to Audit Basic Services and Social Nets Project
The government will proceed to an external audit of digital cash transfers made as part of the basic services and social nets project (FSB). The call for expression of interest to hire an auditor closes today, Aug. 20.
The selected firm will, among others, check that the funds were received and make sure they are and if related SIM cards were effectively distributed and registered.
A survey will also be carried out to assess beneficiaries’ level of satisfaction, and also the program’s management information system (SIG).
Launched in 2018, the FSB aims to provide the poorest communities better access to basic socio-economic infrastructures and social nets. Since then, CFA23 billion has been poured into the project, according to the National Agency for Support to Grassroots Development (ANADEB) which steers it.
Esaïe Edoh
Minister of Trade Calls for Inclusive Chamber of Commerce
Togo’s Trade and Industry Chamber (CCIT) will have new management in the coming weeks. A preparatory meeting was held Tuesday in this regard. The meeting was led by Kodjo Adedze, minister of trade.
On this occasion, the official asked actors present to set up an “inclusive” trade chamber. “The election of new managers has been suspended to have an inclusive chamber, one that represents every actor, whether in trade, industry or services,” Adedze said.
The elections, steered by Germain Mèba, ex-chairman of the CCIT, were suspended in September 2020 due to frequent complaints raised by some professional associations and economic operators, added to “non-compliance with the conditions for drawing up electoral lists in each prefecture or sub-prefecture.”
Still, to make the trade chamber more inclusive, the Special Consular Delegation (DSC) was created in January 2021. Its main missions include managing the chamber's ongoing and pressing affairs, reviewing its rules, and organizing inclusive elections.
The CCIT acts as a bridge between the Togolese business community and the Togolese government. It has a consultative and representative mission. It also provides advice, support, information, training, and management of industrial and commercial services.
Esaïe Edoh
Port of Lomé: Inner road structure rehabilitated for more competitiveness
All inner roads of the autonomous port of Lomé (PAL) have been rehabilitated. This will make the platform more competitive and attractive, according to its authorities who disclosed the information.
“A modern road system inside the Autonomous Port of Lomé ensures better circulation of people and goods, security, safety and speed in handling goods,” the PAL authorities indicated.
Financed by the BOAD and Eiffage, a French company, the rehabilitation works mainly focused on getting the road structure to resume activity immediately, taking into consideration the requirements of the traffic which has been growing significantly in recent years.
The project also allowed the replacement of almost all water, electricity, and phone networks; and the installation of a fiber-optic network throughout the port.
The rehabilitation, PAL management said, aligns with “efforts to modernize the platform over the past decade.”
Esaïe Edoh
The Dry Port of Adetikope Industrial Platform is now operational
PIA Togo inaugurated its dry port at the end of the previous week. The port, established by a presidential decree issued three months ago, has received its first four containers.
The equipment received will be used to test yard density, review and optimize container storage, PIA’s management informed.
The dry port, or Inland Container Depot (ICD), spans over 20 ha and can receive up to 12,500 containers. It should help free some space at the Autonomous Port of Lomé. Located along the Lomé-Ouagadougou-Niamey corridor, it has a parking area for trucks moving in and out of Lomé’s main port, custom borders, and Togo’s economic regions. For the nine coming years, the ICD is the only approved area to receive these vehicles, in the maritime region.
In addition, handling and transhipping of all goods bound for the main port will take place at the dry port. A strategic move, considering that Togo intends to become the main logistics hub in West Africa and a gateway promoting international trade with landlocked countries in the region.
“This dry and free port will be the only place of delivery, storage, and completion of customs formalities for import and export, goods under suspensive customs regime, those under warehouses and areas of clearance, in transit or from border countries and which are to be exported by sea,” the government said last May.
The inland port should also enable the State to have reliable data on exported and imported goods. This will be done by connecting the data systems of the port’s single window, handling terminals, customs offices, and the PIA.
Many actors of the sector add that the infrastructure will ease traffic at port terminals and control costs. At the same time, they forecast, it should help Togo better compete against countries like Senegal (Dakar’s port), Nigeria (Lagos), Cameroon (Kribi), and Rwanda (Kigali).
Besides, the newly-inaugurated port is a key tool to open up landlocked countries, giving them access to international maritime lines. Such infrastructures could, according to some logistics experts, help boost intra-African trade, consequently making African economies more resilient to external shocks.
Klétus Situ
Togo seeks CFA25 billion on the WAEMU securities market
To fund its economic recovery, after the pandemic, Togo will seek CFA25 billion on the WAEMU securities market. The related issue will close next Friday.
The country issued new covid-19 recovery bonds, with a 10-year maturity, a nominal value of CFA10,000, and an interest rate of 6.15% per annum.
So far into the year, Togo has raised CFA408 billion on the WAEMU-securities market. In this quarter, it eyes CF110 billion, out of which it has already secured CFA27.5 billion through an issue carried out last month.
Esaïe Edoh
Togolese entrepreneurs received CFA4.5B from FAIEJ, over a decade
Since it was established in 2012, the FAIEJ - a mechanism supporting young entrepreneurs -has loaned CFA4.5 billion to 3,600 startups, says the government.
In detail, the entity helped create 12,792 jobs, train 22,832 people, and sensitize 130,077 others. The population targeted by the FAIEJ are youth between the ages of 18 to 35, and sectors it focuses on include agriculture, agro-food processing, cereals, craftsmanship, ICTs, and clean energies.
The FAIEJ guarantees loans that banks and other financial institutions provide young entrepreneurs for their projects and micro-projects. Its purpose is to bolster and monitor support to these entrepreneurs in Togo.
Esaïe Edoh